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
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the fruit
Cut the quinces into small pieces.
Combine the quinces and water in a pot and boil slowly until the fruit is mashed, about 1 hour.
Cover the pot and let a third of the liquid boil away.
Strain and sweeten
Strain the liquid through a jelly bag.
For every pint of liquid, add 1 pound of sugar.
Set the jelly
Boil the mixture in a preserving pan until thickened.
Cool the jelly until it can be removed from the mold.
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
- Provide the fruit pectin and tart flavor that give the jelly its body and set.
- Fine white sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and, as it concentrates through boiling, helps it set firm.
The step that matters
Boiling the mixture until thickened. Sugar and fruit pectin set into a gel only at the right concentration. Boiling too briefly leaves the jelly runny, while overcooking can make it stiff and dull in flavor.
“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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