Why it works: Grape and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 23% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,490 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Grape Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the grapes
Wash and stem the grapes.
Separate the pulp from the skins.
Cook the pulps for 10 minutes.
Press the cooked pulps through a sieve to remove seeds.
Add ¾ cup of water to each quart of skins.
Boil the skins with water until tender.
Make the jam
Combine the pulp and skins.
Measure the combined mixture.
For every quart of the mixture, add 1 lb of sugar.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Add the sugar.
Cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture reaches 221°F (105°C).
Jar
Pour the jam into sterilized jars.
Process the jars as for jam.
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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Grape + sugartop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,490 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Grapes
- Provide the fruit flavor, natural pectin in the skins, and the bulk of the jam.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it set into a thick, spreadable texture.
- Water
- Softens the skins so they can be cooked until tender and blended into the jam.
The step that matters
Cook until the mixture reaches 221°F (105°C). Jam sets when enough sugar and pectin concentrate at the right point. Too little cooking leaves it runny, while overcooking can make it stiff or scorch the sugar.
“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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