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 ↓
Plum Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Extract the juice
Place the plums in a kettle and add enough water to cover them.
Bring to a boil, then simmer gently until soft.
Strain the mixture through a jelly bag to collect the juice.
Make the jelly
Measure equal quantities of juice and sugar.
Boil the juice for 15 minutes, then add the heated sugar.
Boil for an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until it jellies.
Test for doneness by dropping a little on a saucer or into cold water.
Pour into heated glasses and let cool until firm.
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
- Plums
- Provide the fruit juice and natural pectin that set the jelly.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the juice thicken and set into a gel.
The step that matters
Boiling the juice before adding the sugar. Boiling the juice first concentrates it and activates the pectin, so the jelly can set once the sugar is added and boiled. Testing for doneness shows whether it has reached the gel point.
“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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