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 Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the currants
Gather full ripe currants on a dry day and remove them from the stalks.
Crush the currants with your hands, leaving none whole.
For every 2 pounds of currants, add 1 quart of water and stir well.
Let the mixture stand for 3 hours, then strain through a sieve.
Make the wine
For every 3 pounds of currants, add 1 pound of powdered sugar and stir until dissolved.
Boil the mixture, skimming off any scum that rises.
Let it cool for 16 hours before transferring to a cask and sealing tightly.
If making 20 gallons, let it stand for 3 weeks before bottling; for 30 gallons, let it stand for 1 month.
Bottle and store
Ensure the wine is clear when drawn off, adding a lump of sugar to each bottle.
Cork the bottles well and store in a cool place to prevent spoilage.
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.
-
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 fruit, acidity and flavour that form the wine's base.
- Water
- Dilutes the crushed currant juice so the wine ferments to a lighter, drinkable body.
- Powdered sugar
- Dissolves into the juice to supply sweetness and fuel fermentation.
The step that matters
Skimming the boiled mixture. Scum that rises during boiling can carry impurities and spoil the flavour, so it must be removed as it forms for a clean-tasting, clear wine.
“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.
More currant wine recipes
You might also like
Black Currant Cordial11 recipes
Vegetable Soup350 recipes
Raspberry Vinegar214 recipes
Brown Coffee with Egg175 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.