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 the jars
Wash and drain the rhubarb.
Layer the rhubarb and sugar in self-sealing jars, filling them as full as possible.
Screw on the covers tightly.
Boil
Place the jars in a boiler of cold water up to the neck.
Boil steadily for 2 to 3 hours until the rhubarb is cooked and has reduced by about one-third.
Top up and seal
Remove from the boiler and use the contents of 2 or 3 jars to fill the others.
Replace the covers immediately and screw tight.
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.
-
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 tart fruit that cooks down to a soft, concentrated filling.
- Light brown sugar
- Sweetens the rhubarb and helps draw out its juice as it cooks.
The step that matters
Boil steadily for 2 to 3 hours. Rhubarb must reach a full cooked state and reduce by about one-third to be safely preserved. Too little heat or time leaves the fruit underprocessed, so keep the water boiling steadily throughout.
“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.
You might also like
Rhubarb Pie152 recipes
Rhubarb Marmalade35 recipes
Rhubarb Jelly28 recipes
White Cake431 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.