Why it works: Apple and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Apple Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the apples
Peel the apples and remove the core with a vegetable cutter.
Slice the apples into pieces about ⅜ inch thick.
Roll the apple slices in pounded loaf sugar.
Fry and serve
Dip the slices into the batter and fry in hot fat until golden and crisp.
Remove the fritters onto a cloth and sprinkle with more pounded loaf sugar.
Arrange on a hot napkin and serve.
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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Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Apple and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Apples
- Provide the fruit that softens under heat and becomes sweet and tender inside the batter.
- Batter
- Coats the apple slices and fries to a crisp, golden shell that holds in moisture.
- Pounded loaf sugar
- Sweetens the fritters and helps the surface caramelise and brown in the hot fat.
The step that matters
Fry in hot fat until golden and crisp. If the fat is not hot enough, the batter absorbs oil and turns greasy and heavy instead of forming a crisp, golden crust. Frying at a steady high heat seals the batter quickly so the apple cooks through without soaking up fat.
“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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