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 Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the apples
Pare, core, and quarter the apples.
Stew the apples in enough water until soft.
Strain and cook
Mash and strain the apples through a coarse towel.
Add 1 pound of sugar for every pint of juice.
Boil rapidly for 25 minutes.
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 pectin and tart flavour that give the jelly its body and taste.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the juice and helps the jelly set and hold its shape.
The step that matters
Boil rapidly for 25 minutes. Rapid boiling concentrates the juice and drives off water so the pectin and sugar can form a firm gel. Too little boiling leaves the jelly runny, while overcooking can make it 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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