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Dessert

Currant Conserve

A preserve made from washed currants, raisins, oranges, and sugar.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Raisin and orange are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,684 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Currant Conserve

Ingredients

Directions

Combine

  1. Take five pounds of washed and stemmed currants, five pounds of sugar, and five oranges peeled, seeded, and cut into bits.

  2. Add 2 ½ pounds seedless raisins.

Cook and seal

  1. Mix the whole together and boil for twenty minutes.

  2. Seal while hot.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

173Calories
2 gProtein
0 gFat
44 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Orange1 medium (131g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog]. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Raisin + orangetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,684 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  2. Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,481 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Sugar + orangetop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together19,212 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Sugar and orange barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 19,212 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 (in the method)
Provide the main fruit flavour and body, and natural pectin that helps the preserve set.
Sugar
Adds sweetness, helps the preserve set, and helps it keep.
Seedless raisins
Add concentrated sweetness and chewy texture to the preserve.
Oranges
Add citrus acidity and aroma that balance the sweetness.

The step that matters

Seal while hot. Filling jars while the preserve is still hot lets the contents contract as they cool, forming a partial vacuum that helps the seal hold. Sealing cooler preserve gives a weaker seal.

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, raisin):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Figfits better
  3. Datesfits about as well
  4. Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, raisin. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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