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 Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Put the currants in an agate kettle.
Heat and mash with a wooden spoon, cooking gently for 15 minutes after boiling begins.
When cool enough to handle, strain through a dry cloth, pressing out all the juice, and measure the juice.
Make the jelly
Heat an equal amount of sugar in the oven until very hot.
Boil the juice slowly for 15 minutes, skimming as needed.
Stir in the hot sugar.
Boil for 10-12 minutes.
Set and store
Pour into tumblers.
Let cool.
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.
-
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 juice and the natural pectin and acid that let the jelly set.
- Granulated sugar
- Adds sweetness and, with pectin and acid, helps the juice thicken into a firm gel.
The step that matters
Boiling after the sugar is added. The jelly sets only when the sugar concentration and boiling temperature reach the gel point with the fruit's pectin and acid. Too short a boil leaves a runny syrup, while too long a boil can make the jelly stiff and dull in flavour.
“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.
More currant jelly recipes
You might also like
Currant Ice Cream32 recipes
Currant Sherbet9 recipes
Currant and Raspberry Ice7 recipes
White Cake431 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.