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 ↓
Sweet Apples
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Cut the apples into quarters.
If the apples have thick skins, peel them before quartering; otherwise, cook with skins on.
Cook
Place the cut sides up in a saucepan.
Sprinkle sugar over the apples.
Add enough water to prevent burning before they start to cook.
Cook on the stove until soft but not mushy.
Serve
Serve cold with cream or milk.
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.
-
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
- Sweet apples
- Provide the main body and fruity flavour of the dish as they soften.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the apples take on a caramel-like flavour as they cook.
- Water
- Creates steam and a little liquid so the apples do not scorch before they release juice.
The step that matters
Add enough water before cooking. Without enough water at the start, the sugar and fruit sugars can scorch on the base of the pan before the apples release their juices. A little water keeps the pan from 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.
More sweet apples recipes
You might also like
Apple Pudding256 recipes
Apple Cake80 recipes
Apple Meringue75 recipes
Dried Apple Cake51 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.