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 ↓
Queen Curkant Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Bruise part of the currants with a small portion of the sugar and place in a preserving pan over low heat.
Stir constantly until the juice flows to prevent burning.
Add the remaining currants and sugar, mixing well.
Boil for 10 to 15 minutes, or until it jellies strongly when falling from a skimmer.
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 fruit flavour and natural pectin that help the jam set.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it thicken and keep as it sets.
The step that matters
Boil until it jellies. Currants need enough boiling for the sugar to concentrate and pectin to set. Stop too early and the jam stays runny; boil too long and it can darken and taste cooked.
“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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