Why it works: Apricot and sugar 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 ↓
Confiture d’Abricots. — Preserved Apricots.
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the apricots into pieces and weigh them.
Add 14 pounds of sugar for every 40 pounds of fruit.
If using brown sugar, clarify it if it's not very fine.
Cook the jam
Combine the sugar or syrup with the fruit in a pan.
Stir constantly to prevent sticking.
When the moisture has evaporated, the jam is done.
Break the pits of the fruit and boil the seeds to remove the skin.
When the preserve is nearly done, add the seeds and stir well.
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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Apricot + sugartop 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, pectin, and flavor that form the body of the jam.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it thicken and keep by binding water.
The step that matters
Stir constantly to prevent sticking. Sugar-heavy fruit mixtures scorch easily on the bottom of the pan as water evaporates. Constant stirring spreads heat evenly and keeps the jam from burning.
“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.
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