Why it works: Sugar and pine work together. They rank in the top 30% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 309 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Marmalade
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Remove the rinds and dark specks from the pines.
Grate or slice the pines into thin pieces.
Make the marmalade
Weigh the prepared fruit and heat it gently for 10 minutes.
Gradually stir in the sugar until fully combined.
Boil until the mixture thickens and becomes transparent, about 15 minutes for small quantities.
Avoid placing the preserving pan directly on the fire; use a trivet to elevate it.
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 + pinetop 30% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together309 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ripe english pines
- Supplies the fruit base, flavour and body of the marmalade.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the mixture thicken and keep as a preserve.
The step that matters
Boil until the mixture thickens and becomes transparent. Sugar and fruit only set once enough water has evaporated and the mixture reaches a high enough concentration. Stopping too early leaves it runny, while boiling too long or over direct heat can scorch the sugar and give a bitter taste.
“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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