Why it works: Apricot and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,630 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Dried Apricots
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the apricots
Select firm, fully grown apricots.
Wipe the apricots lightly.
Make a small incision at the top of each apricot.
Remove the stones carefully.
Place the apricots in a preserving pan with enough cold water to float them.
Heat over moderate heat until boiling.
If the apricots are tender, remove them and place in cold water; otherwise, simmer until tender.
Make the syrup and soak
Measure the same weight of sugar as the fruit.
Boil the sugar with 1 quart of water for 10 minutes.
Skim the syrup.
Add the drained apricots and simmer for 1 minute.
Let the apricots sit in the syrup for 24 hours.
Drain the syrup.
Boil the syrup for 10 minutes.
Pour the boiled syrup over the apricots immediately.
After 48 hours, repeat boiling the syrup for 10 minutes.
Simmer the apricots for 2 to 4 minutes until clear.
Store or dry
Store the apricots in the syrup.
Alternatively, drain and dry them gradually on slates or dishes.
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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Apricot + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,630 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Apricots
- Provide the fruit that softens and turns clear as it is cooked and soaked in syrup.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and, dissolved into syrup, draws out moisture and helps preserve it.
The step that matters
Simmer the apricots for 2 to 4 minutes until clear. Sugar syrup slowly replaces the water in the fruit, so the apricots must be heated gently until translucent. Overcooking can split or break them, while undercooking leaves them opaque and less preserved.
“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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