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 Syrup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Mash the currants, raspberries, and cherries together.
Let the mixture stand in a warm place for 3 to 4 days, covered with a coarse cloth or paper with holes.
Make the syrup
Filter the juice to remove sediment.
Add the powdered sugar to the juice.
Finish the syrup in a bain-marie, skimming off any foam.
Once cold, pour the syrup into bottles and cork them well.
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 main juice and tart flavour that defines the syrup.
- Raspberries
- Add extra fruit juice and a fragrant, aromatic flavour.
- Cherries
- Contribute juice and body to the fruit base.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the juice and helps preserve the finished syrup.
The step that matters
Finish the syrup in a bain-marie, skimming off any foam. Sugar must dissolve fully into the juice and foam must be removed so the syrup is clear and stable. Gentle heat in a water bath prevents scorching and over-reduction, keeping the flavour fresh.
“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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