Why it works: Rhubarb and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,852 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Canned Rhubarb
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare the rhubarb by cutting the leaves from the stalks immediately after pulling.
Can the rhubarb
Stew the rhubarb without sugar and with as little water as possible to prevent burning, until the juice flows.
Have the cans ready and fill them quickly, then screw on the covers.
Once cool, wrap the cans in brown paper and store them in a dark, cool place.
Alternative method
Alternatively, simmer the rhubarb for half an hour in a syrup made with equal weights of sugar and fruit, then seal.
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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Rhubarb + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,852 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
- Rhubarb
- Provides the fruit and the juice that releases during stewing to form the preserve.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and, in quantity, helps preserve it by binding water.
The step that matters
Stewing with little water. Rhubarb has little liquid of its own, so too much water dilutes the flavour and too little lets it scorch. Stewing gently until the juice flows keeps the fruit intact and prevents burning.
“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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