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 ↓
Jellies and Jams
Ingredients
Directions
Extract the juice
Place fruit in a porcelain kettle with just enough water to prevent burning, and stir often.
Heat until thoroughly scalded.
Alternatively, place fruit in a stone jar in a kettle of tepid water.
Boil until softened, stirring frequently.
Strain the juice through a strong, coarse flannel or cotton bag wrung out in hot water.
Let it drain, and squeeze the bag as it cools.
Rinse the bag off each time.
Cut larger fruits into pieces and remove defective cores.
Cover with water and boil gently until tender.
Drain for three to four hours or overnight.
Make the jelly
Combine equal measures of juice and sugar.
Boil the juice rapidly for ten minutes.
Skim.
Add sugar and boil for another ten minutes.
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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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
- Fruit
- Provides the pectin, acid and flavour that let the juice set into jelly.
- Refined or granulated sugar
- Sweetens the juice and, with boiling, helps it thicken and set.
The step that matters
Boil the juice rapidly. Rapid boiling concentrates the juice and drives off water so pectin and sugar can gel; too little boiling leaves it runny and it may not set.
“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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