Why it works: Plum and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,313 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
English Guava
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Remove the stalks from the guavas and cut some of them.
Place the guavas and plums into stone jars.
Boil the jars in water as directed.
Extract the juice
Drain off the juice and strain it through a thick strainer or jelly bag.
Make the jelly
Weigh the juice and boil it quickly for 15 to 20 minutes.
Stir in the sugar until dissolved, then remove any scum.
Boil the preserve again for 8 to 12 minutes, or longer if it doesn't set.
Pour the jelly into shallow pans or small molds and let it cool before serving.
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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Plum + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,313 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
- Shepherd's bullace
- Provides natural pectin and tartness that help the juice set into a firm jelly.
- Imperatrice plums
- Add natural pectin and acidity that support setting and a brighter flavour.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jelly, helps it set, and preserves it once cooked.
The step that matters
Boiling the juice with sugar until it sets. Boiling concentrates the juice and the sugar, and the pectin and acid then form a gel as it cools. Too little boiling leaves the jelly runny, while overboiling can make it stiff or dull in flavour. Removing scum keeps the jelly clear.
“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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