Why it works: Plum and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,313 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Canned Plums
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the plums
Select firm, well-ripened plums and prick the skin in several places to prevent bursting.
Make the syrup and cook
In a pot, combine sugar and just enough water to melt it.
Add a few plums at a time and cook until tender.
Carefully remove the fruit and place it in jars.
Jar and store
Fill the jars with syrup and seal them.
Store in a dark place away from drafts to prevent cracking.
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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Plum + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,313 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
- Plums
- Provide the fruit that softens during cooking and forms the bulk of the preserve.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and, dissolved in water, forms the syrup that fills the jars.
The step that matters
Pricking the plum skins. Skins that are not pricked can split as the fruit heats, because steam and expanding juices build pressure under the skin. Pricking gives that pressure a way out, so the plums stay whole and tender.
“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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