Name: Citron and Quince Preserves
Ingredients: 1 pound citron, cut into 1-inch pieces; 1 pound quinces, washed, pared, quartered, cored, and halved; ¾ pound white sugar; Alum for soaking; Water

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 ↓

Citron and Quince Preserves

Ingredients

1 pound citron, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound quinces, washed, pared, quartered, cored, and halved
¾ pound white sugar
Alum for soaking
Water

Directions

Prepare the citron

Boil the citron pieces in strong alum-water for 30 minutes, then drain them.
Boil them in fresh water until tender and the color changes.

Prepare the quince

Boil the quince cores and parings in water for 1.5 hours.
Remove the quince cores and parings.

Cook the preserves

Add the prepared quince to the liquid.
Boil until the quince begins to soften.
Add the citron and sugar.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Quince + sugartop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked 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

Citron: Provides bulk and a firm, chewy texture to the preserve.
Quinces: Rich in pectin, so they help the preserve set and add a floral aroma.
White sugar: Sweetens the preserve and helps it keep by binding water.

The step that matters

Draining and re-boiling the citron in fresh water. The alum firms the citron's tissue, but leftover alum can taste harsh. Draining and boiling in fresh water removes the excess. Cook until tender, because undercooked citron stays tough.

“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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Citron and Quince Preserves