Why it works: Grape and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 23% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,490 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Grape Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Pick the grapes from the stems, wash, and drain them.
Mash the grapes with a spoon.
Place the mashed grapes in a preserving kettle and cover with a large plate.
Boil for 10 minutes.
Pour the mixture into a jelly bag and squeeze out the juice.
Make and jar the jelly
Measure 1 pint of juice for every 1 pound of sugar.
Combine the juice and sugar in the kettle and boil for 20 minutes, skimming frequently.
Fill jars with the warm jelly and seal with brandy papers.
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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Grape + sugartop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,490 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Grapes
- Provide the fruit juice that contains the natural pectin and acids needed to set the jelly.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and, with the acid and pectin, helps it gel and keep its set.
The step that matters
Boiling the juice with sugar for 20 minutes. Boiling must be brisk enough to reach the gel point; too little boiling leaves the jelly runny, while overcooking can make it stiff or dull in flavour. Skimming removes foam so the jelly stays 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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