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 ↓
Eed-currant Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Gather currants in fine weather and remove them from the stalks.
Place the currants in a jar and set the jar in a saucepan of boiling water.
Simmer gently until the juice is well extracted.
Strain the juice through a fine cloth, avoiding squeezing too much to keep the jelly clear.
Make the jelly
Measure the juice and add ¾ pound of loaf sugar for each pint.
Put the mixture in a preserving pan over the fire.
Stir until done, removing any scum that rises.
Boil for 20 to 30 minutes.
Test by placing a little jelly on a plate; if firm when cool, it's done.
Remove from heat and pour into small jars.
Seal and store
Cover each with wax paper brushed with egg white.
Label the jars with the date.
Store in a dry place.
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
- Currant juice
- Provides the fruit flavour and the natural pectin and acid that let the mixture set into jelly.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and, with the fruit's acid and pectin, helps it set firm.
The step that matters
Avoid squeezing the juice through the cloth. Pressing the pulp forces cloudy particles and fine solids into the juice, which makes the finished jelly cloudy rather than clear. Letting it drip gently keeps it clear.
“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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