Why it works: Sugar and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Gooseberry Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Boil six pounds of unripe gooseberries in six pints of water until well boiled but not burst too much.
Pour the boiled mixture into a basin and let it stand covered with a cloth for twenty‑four hours.
Strain the mixture through a jelly‑bag.
Make the jelly
To every pint of juice add one pound of sugar.
Boil the sugared juice for an hour and skim the boiling mixture.
Boil for a half hour longer with a sprig of vanilla.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Vanilla | 1 tsp extract (4ml) | 12 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Gooseberries (in the method)
- Provide the fruit pectin and tart flavour that let the juice set into jelly.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and, once concentrated by boiling, helps the jelly set firmly.
- Vanilla
- Adds a gentle aromatic flavour to the finished jelly.
The step that matters
Boiling the sugared juice. Sugar and pectin only set into a firm gel when enough water has boiled off. Boiling too briefly leaves a loose, syrupy jelly, while the sugar must be fully dissolved first to avoid grainy texture.
“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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