Why it works: Sugar and apricot are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,630 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Apricot Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Weigh equal amounts of sugar and apricots.
Pare and cut the apricots into small pieces.
Sprinkle half of the sugar over the apricots and let sit overnight.
Cook the jam
The next day, boil the remaining sugar with the apricots.
Stir until it boils, remove any scum, and boil until clear.
Add some blanched apricot kernels and boil for 2-3 minutes.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Sugar + apricottop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,630 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Apricots
- Provide the fruit bulk, flavour and pectin that help the jam set as it cooks.
- Pounded loaf sugar
- Sweetens the jam and draws moisture out of the fruit, helping it thicken and keep.
The step that matters
Removing the scum while boiling. Scum is foam and impurities that rise to the surface as the fruit and sugar boil. Skimming it keeps the jam clear and gives a cleaner flavour.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
More apricot jam recipes
You might also like
Apricot Ice Cream26 recipes
Mixed Fruit Sherbet6 recipes
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.