Why it works: Sugar and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,939 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Damson Jam
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very slow oven”. The 300°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Pick the damsons from the stalks and place them in jars.
Cover the jars and heat them in a slow oven (300°F / 150°C) until the damsons reduce to a pulp.
Rub the pulp through a wire sieve.
Measure an equal quantity of sugar and boil it until it caramelizes.
Add the pulp to the caramelized sugar and boil for 10 to 15 minutes.
Pour the jam into pots, cover with brandy paper, and tie it down.
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.
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Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and brandy barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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