Why it works: Pineapple and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,841 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Pineapple Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Collect any juice that flows from the sliced pineapple in a basin.
Make the jam
Add cold water to barely cover the pineapple and cook until soft.
Stir together the pineapple juice and sugar over the fire.
Add the cooked pineapple and boil until done.
Cover with a brandied paper before sealing.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Pineapple + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,841 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
- Pineapple
- Provides the fruit body and flavor that the jam is built around.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it set as it thickens while boiling.
- Cold water
- Gives the pineapple enough liquid to soften gently before the sugar is added.
The step that matters
Add the cooked pineapple and boil until done. Sugar concentrates as water evaporates during boiling, so the jam thickens and sets only when it is cooked long enough. Stopping too early leaves it runny, and overcooking can make it stiff or caramelised.
“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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