Why it works: Red currant and almond share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 90 recipes. Both carry alpha-pinene, which smells pine, turpentine. The science ↓
Syeop De Gboseilles
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Take five or six pounds of red currants and pick them.
Add a quart of cherries, stoned, and cut off the stalks.
Squeeze the juice out.
Let the liquor ferment two or three days.
Make the syrup
Make a strong syrup.
Boil the juice and mix together.
Let it cool and filter it.
For one pound of fruit, add two pounds of sugar (not counting the cherries).
Mix with water when serving.
Bottle and cork tightly.
Make the almond milk
Blanch and pound three quarters of a pound of sweet almonds, and a few bitter almonds, with some water.
Squeeze them through a cloth.
Make a thin syrup of sugar.
When it boils, add almond milk.
Let it boil up.
When cold, bottle for use.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 5 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Cherry | 1 cup (138g) | 87 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Almond | 1 almond (1.2g) | 7 |
| Red Currant | not in our table | 0 |
| Fruit | 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.
-
Red currant + almondtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together90 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
-
Sugar + almondtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together15,679 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
-
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
- Red currants
- Provide the sharp, acidic juice that forms the base of the syrup.
- Cherries
- Add fruity flavour and extra juice to the currant base.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the syrup and balances the sourness of the currant juice.
- Sweet almonds
- Form a milky emulsion that gives the syrup body and a creamy, soft mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Adding the almond milk to the boiling syrup. Almond milk is a suspension of fine solids in water, and rapid heating can make it separate or scorch on the base of the pan. Adding it gradually and watching it as it boils up keeps the mixture smooth.
Swap the red currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, almond):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Red currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, almond. 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.
You might also like
Almond Milk18 recipes
Black Currant Cordial11 recipes
Vegetable Soup350 recipes
Raspberry Vinegar214 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.