Why it works: Red currant and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 26% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,156 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Fruit Pie Juices
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Invert the cup or jelly-mould in the center of the dish.
Line the sides of the dish with pastry.
Fill and cover
Layer the fruit and sugar alternately in the dish.
Cover with pastry, ensuring it is not rolled too thin.
Prick the pastry in several places to allow steam to escape.
Bake and serve
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C).
When serving, slip a knife under the edge of the cup to release the juice.
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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Red currant + sugartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,156 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fruit
- Provides the main flavor and the juice that collects under the crust.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and helps draw out juice as the pie bakes.
- Pastry
- Forms the enclosing crust that holds the fruit and juice together during baking.
The step that matters
Pricking the pastry top. Vents let steam escape so the top does not swell or crack unevenly and the pastry stays crisp rather than soggy. Rolling the top too thin risks tearing or burning during baking.
“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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