Why it works: Sugar and currant 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 ↓
Raspberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the jam
Mash the raspberries well in a preserving kettle using a potato masher.
Add the currant juice and boil slowly until it jellies.
To test for jelling, place a small amount on a plate and set it on ice.
Once it jellies, remove from the fire and fill small jars.
Cover and store
Cover with brandied paper and tie a thick white paper over them.
Store in a dark, dry, cool place.
Optional seed removal
If you prefer no seeds, press the fruit through a sieve before boiling.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Sugar + curranttop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,256 recipes
Sugar and currant 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
- Red raspberries
- Provide the main fruit flavor and the bulk of the jam's body.
- Loaf sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the jam set and keep well.
- Currant juice
- Adds acidity and natural pectin to help the jam gel.
The step that matters
Testing for jelling. Jam keeps boiling and thickening after it is removed from the heat, so a cold plate test shows whether it has reached a set. Removing it too early leaves runny jam, while boiling too long makes it stiff.
“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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