Why it works: Quince and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,444 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Quince Jellt
Ingredients
Directions
Make the quince juice
Combine quince shavings and parboiling water in a pot.
Boil until the quince is perfectly soft.
Strain the mixture through a coarse bag.
Make the jelly
Add 1 pound of sugar for every pint of liquid and boil for exactly 20 minutes.
Pour the hot mixture into half-pint jars.
Seal and store
Cut a piece of white paper larger than the jar, mix flour and water, and apply it around the edge of the paper to seal.
Press the paper tightly onto the jar.
Clean the jars with a wet rag and store them.
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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Quince + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,444 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
- Quince
- Provides the pectin and flavour that let the liquid set into a jelly.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and helps it thicken and set as it cooks.
The step that matters
Boil for exactly 20 minutes after adding sugar. Sugar and pectin must reach the right concentration to gel. Boiling too briefly leaves the jelly runny, while overcooking can darken it and weaken its set.
“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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