Why it works: Melon and syrup work together. They rank in the top 20% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 106 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Preserved Melons in Syrup
Ingredients
Directions
Cut melons into slices, remove seeds, and peel off the rind.
Cut slices into three or four pieces and parboil until tender.
Immerse in cold water for two hours.
Trim the melon pieces and place them in an earthen jar.
Cover with cold syrup and let sit for two hours, then drain the syrup.
Cook the syrup to 16 degrees, let it cool, and pour it over the melons. Repeat this process four times, twice a day.
On the fifth time, cook the syrup to 32 degrees, add the melons, and let it boil once.
Remove from heat and let it sit for 1.5 hours.
Once cool, transfer to jars, seal tightly, and store in a cool, dry place.
If fermentation occurs, boil the melons again.
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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Melon + syruptop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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