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 and Currant Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Carefully inspect the raspberries and weigh them.
Measure an equal quantity of sugar.
For each pound of fruit and sugar, use ½ pint of currant juice.
Make the jam
Combine currant juice and raspberries in a preserving kettle over medium heat.
Break the berries with a wooden spoon and stir constantly until they boil quickly and reduce by about two-thirds.
Add the sugar and stir until completely dissolved.
Simmer the jam slowly for five minutes, stirring often to prevent burning.
Finish
Cool the jam and store it as directed in other jam recipes.
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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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
- Raspberries
- Provide the main fruit flavor and, as they break down, the body of the jam.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it set as it cooks and thickens.
- Currant juice
- Adds natural pectin and tartness that help the jam gel and balance the sweetness.
The step that matters
Simmer slowly and stir often. Sugar-rich fruit mixtures scorch easily on the bottom of the kettle, and burnt sugar gives a bitter taste. Frequent stirring keeps the jam from sticking while it thickens.
“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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