Why it works: Quince and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,444 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Quince Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Pare, quarter, and core the quinces, then weigh them.
Place the quinces in a pot with 2 cups of water and simmer gently until slightly broken, about 30 minutes.
Strain the mixture through a jelly bag or fine cloth without pressing.
Weigh the juice and pour it into a clean preserving pan.
Make the jelly
Boil the juice quickly for 20 minutes.
Stir in the sugar until fully dissolved.
Continue to boil, stirring constantly, for 10 to 20 minutes until it jellies strongly.
Pour the jelly into glasses or molds and let it cool.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Quince + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,444 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Quinces
- Their high pectin content provides the natural setting power that lets the juice gel.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the juice set into a firm, glossy jelly when boiled.
- Water
- Softens the quinces so their juice can be extracted by straining.
The step that matters
Strain without pressing. Pressing the bag forces cloudy solids and pulp through the cloth, which makes the jelly cloudy and can dull its clarity.
“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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