Why it works: Sugar and currant 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 ↓
Raspberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Mix the raspberries and sugar in a bowl.
Mash the berries with a potato masher.
Cook and jar
Add the currant juice and bring to a boil.
Boil for one hour.
Pour into tumblers and cover with egg papers while hot.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Sugar + curranttop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,256 recipes
Sugar and currant 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
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, with boiling, helps it thicken and set.
- Raspberries
- Provide the main fruit flavor and body of the jam.
- Currant juice
- Adds extra pectin and tartness to help the jam set.
The step that matters
Boiling for one hour. Sugar and fruit pectin must reach a high enough concentration and temperature to gel. Boiling too briefly leaves the jam runny, while overcooking can darken and stiffen it.
“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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