Why it works: Quince and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,444 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Quince Syrup for Hot Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Grate the quinces.
In a pot, combine the grated quinces, sugar, and water.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let it simmer slowly for 2 to 3 hours.
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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Quince + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,444 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
- Quinces
- Provide the fruit flavor and natural pectin that help the syrup thicken as it cooks.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the syrup and, as it concentrates, helps give it body and preserves it.
The step that matters
Simmering slowly for 2 to 3 hours. A gentle simmer lets water evaporate slowly while the quince breaks down and its pectin and sugar concentrate into syrup. Boiling hard can scorch the sugar and cloud or darken the syrup.
“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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