Why it works: Currant and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 26% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,256 recipes. The science ↓
Currant Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the currants
Gather full ripe currants on a dry day, pick them from the stalks, and weigh them.
Crush the currants with your hands, leaving none whole.
For every two pounds of currants, put one quart of water.
Stir all well together, and let it stand three hours.
Strain the liquor through a sieve.
Make the wine
For every three pounds of currants, put one pound of powdered loaf sugar.
Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Boil the mixture. Keep skimming it as long as any scum rises.
Let it stand sixteen hours to cool.
Put it in the cask, stopping it very close.
Age and bottle
If the quantity is twenty gallons, let it stand three weeks before bottling; if it is thirty gallons, let it remain a month.
When drawn off, it should be perfectly clear.
Put a lump of sugar in each bottle, cork it well, and keep it in a cool place.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| 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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Currant + sugartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,256 recipes
Currant and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,256 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
- Provide the fruit flavour, acidity and natural sugars that the wine is built on.
- Powdered loaf sugar
- Adds sweetness and feeds fermentation, producing alcohol in the finished wine.
- Water
- Dilutes the crushed fruit juice so the mixture is light enough to ferment smoothly.
The step that matters
Skimming the boiled mixture. Scum rising during boiling consists of impurities and fruit matter; removing it as it forms keeps the wine clear and prevents off-flavours in the finished liquid.
“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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