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 Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Make the jelly
Combine quince shavings and the water used for parboiling in a pot.
Boil until the quince is perfectly soft.
Strain the mixture through a coarse bag.
For every pint of liquid, add 1 pound of sugar.
Boil for exactly 20 minutes.
Pour the hot jelly into half-pint jars.
Seal the jars
Cut a piece of white paper larger than the jar.
Mix flour and water.
Apply the mixture around the edge of the paper.
Press the paper tightly onto the jar.
Clean the jars with a wet rag before storing.
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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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 shavings
- Provide the fruit and natural pectin that help the jelly set.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and helps it set into a firm gel.
The step that matters
Boil for exactly 20 minutes. Boiling concentrates the liquid and sugar so the pectin can form a gel. Boiling too briefly leaves the jelly runny, while overcooking can make it dark and stiff.
“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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