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, White
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Bruise the currants and strain the juice through a jelly bag without pressing.
Measure the juice; for every pint, add 1 pound of sugar.
Make the jelly
In a preserving pan, combine the juice and sugar, stirring until it boils.
Boil for 6 minutes.
If a stiffer jelly is desired, dissolve ½ ounce of isinglass in a little juice and add it with the sugar.
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
- Currants
- Provide the juice and natural pectin that set the jelly.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and helps it set by binding water and firming the gel.
- Isinglass
- Adds gelatin-like protein to firm the jelly for a stiffer set.
The step that matters
Do not press the juice through the jelly bag. Pressing forces bits of pulp and solids into the juice, which can cloud the jelly. Letting it drip keeps the juice clear and the finished jelly bright and smooth.
“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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