Why it works: Currant and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 26% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,256 recipes. The science ↓
Currant Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the currants
Pick over currants, leaving stems intact.
Wash and drain the currants.
Mash a few currants in the bottom of a preserving kettle using a wooden potato masher. Continue mashing until all currants are used.
Cook slowly until the currants look white.
Extract the juice
Strain through a coarse strainer. Let the juice drop through a double thickness of cheesecloth or a jelly bag.
Measure the juice.
Make the jelly
Bring the juice to a boil. Boil for five minutes.
Add an equal measure of heated sugar. Boil for three minutes.
Skim the mixture.
Set and store
Pour into glasses.
Place in a sunny window and let stand for twenty-four hours.
Cover and keep in a cool, dry place.
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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Currant + sugartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,256 recipes
Currant and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,256 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Currants
- Provide the juice and natural pectin that gives the jelly its body and set.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and, with the cooked juice, helps the jelly set firm.
The step that matters
Boiling the juice with sugar. Sugar and acid must reach the right concentration for the pectin to set. Boiling too briefly leaves the jelly runny, while overcooking can make it stiff or cloudy.
“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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