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
Ingredients
Directions
Select fresh, not overly ripe currants. If sandy, wash them but do not stem.
Mash a small quantity in a stone jar with a potato masher.
Squeeze the mash through a flannel bag and strain again without squeezing.
Pour the liquid into a porcelain-lined kettle and place over a brisk fire.
Heat sugar in an earthen dish in the oven.
Boil the juice for twenty minutes after it starts boiling.
Quickly stir in the hot sugar and stir until dissolved.
Skim thoroughly, bring to a boil again, and boil for two minutes.
Dip tumblers in hot water, fill with the boiling liquid, and let sit for twenty-four hours to jelly.
If not sufficiently jellied, cover with glass and place in the sun for several days.
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
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