Why it works: Currant and arrowroot work together. They rank in the top 26% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Arrowroot and Black-currant Drink
Ingredients
Directions
Make the currant liquid
Boil the black-currant preserve in 1 quart of water for 30 minutes, covered.
Strain the mixture and return the liquid to the heat.
Thicken and cool
Mix 1 teaspoon of arrowroot with a little cold water.
Pour the boiling liquid over the arrowroot while stirring.
Let the mixture cool completely.
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 + arrowroottop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Arrowroot
- Thickens the liquid as its starch swells when heated, giving a smooth, slightly glossy body.
- Black-currant preserve
- Gives the drink its fruit flavour and sweetness.
The step that matters
Pour the boiling liquid over the arrowroot while stirring. Arrowroot starch clumps if it meets hot liquid undispersed. Mixing it into cold water first and stirring the hot liquid in keeps the starch evenly suspended, so it thickens smoothly as it heats.
“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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