Why it works: Sugar and apricot 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 ↓
Apiucot Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Weigh equal amounts of pounded sugar and apricots.
Pare and chop the apricots into small pieces.
Sprinkle half of the sugar over the chopped apricots.
Cook the jam
The next day, boil the remaining sugar with the apricots.
Stir until it reaches a boil, then remove any scum.
Once clear, which may take about 20 minutes, add some blanched apricot kernels.
Boil for an additional minute or two.
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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Sugar + apricottop 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
- Pounded sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, with the fruit's pectin and acid, helps it set and keep.
- Apricots
- Provide the fruit flavour, body, and natural pectin that lets the jam thicken.
- Blanched apricot kernels
- Add a subtle almond-like aroma to the jam.
The step that matters
Boil until clear, then stop. Jam sets as water evaporates and sugar and pectin concentrate. Removing scum keeps the jam clear, and boiling too long can make it overly stiff or dull in flavour.
“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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