Why it works: Fig and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,241 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Figs, Ripe, to Preserve
Ingredients
Directions
Take ripe white figs and slit them on the tops.
Put the figs into clarified sugar and bring to a boil.
Skim off any foam and let the figs stand until the next day.
The next day, boil more sugar until it reaches the souffle stage.
Add this sugar to the figs and bring to a boil again.
The following day, drain the figs and dry them.
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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Fig + sugartop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,241 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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