Why it works: Sugar and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,939 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Blackberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the jam
Rub the blackberries through a fine sieve into a preserving pan.
Add the sifted sugar to the blackberries.
Heat the mixture over a brisk charcoal fire until it boils.
Boil briskly for 15 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent burning.
Pot and store
Pour the jam into pots.
Cover with papers dipped in brandy and tie them down.
Store in a dry room.
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.
-
Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and brandy barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 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
- Blackberries
- Provide the fruit pulp, flavour and natural pectin that help the jam set.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, at high concentration, helps it set and keeps it preserved.
- Brandy
- Used on the papers laid over the jam, where its alcohol helps discourage mould.
The step that matters
Boiling briskly while stirring constantly. Sugar-heavy jam can scorch on the bottom of the pan, giving a burnt taste. Constant stirring spreads the heat and keeps the sugar from sticking, while a brisk boil reaches the concentration needed for a good set.
“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 blackberry jam recipes
You might also like
Brandy Peaches68 recipes
Brandy Cream21 recipes
Brandy Pudding13 recipes
White Cake431 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.