Why it works: Currant and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,057 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Currant-jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Stem and weigh the currants.
Measure out an equal weight of sugar.
Cook the jam
Combine the currants and sugar in a preserving kettle over medium heat.
Stir occasionally until the mixture boils.
Remove any scum that rises to the surface.
Boil the jam for 10 minutes once it starts to boil.
Allow the jam to cool slightly, then transfer it to glasses or jars.
Seal and store
Once completely cool, place a round of paper dipped in brandy on top of each jar.
Seal the jars with paper brushed with slightly beaten egg white to keep out air.
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 + brandytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,057 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Brandy + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,340 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
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Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Currant + eggtop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,734 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Sugar and brandy barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 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 main fruit flavour and, with sugar, the body of the jam.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it set and keep well as it thickens.
- Brandy
- Adds aroma and flavour to the paper rounds placed on the jam.
- Egg white
- Brushed on paper to seal the jar against air.
The step that matters
Boiling the jam for 10 minutes. Boiling drives off water and concentrates the currant pectin and sugar so the jam sets. Boiling too briefly can leave it runny, and the timing should start only once the mixture is actually boiling.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, brandy, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Apricotfits about as well
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, brandy, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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