Why it works: Grape and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 23% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,490 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Elderberry and Grape Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Extract the juice
Combine grapes and elderberries in a preserving kettle over low heat.
Cook slowly until the juice flows freely.
Pour the mixture into a jelly bag and let it drain until all the juice is extracted.
Make and set the jelly
For each pint of juice, add a pint of granulated sugar to the preserving kettle.
Stir over heat until the sugar is dissolved.
Boil until a small amount of jelly on a saucer stiffens when cooled.
Partly cool the jelly, then pour it into jelly glasses.
Once the jelly is completely cold, cover the glasses with white paper secured with egg white or mucilage.
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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Grape + sugartop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,490 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Grapes
- Provide natural pectin and acid that help the jelly set and give flavour.
- Elderberries
- Add colour, tart flavour, and additional pectin to support setting.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and, with boiling, helps it reach a firm, set texture.
The step that matters
Boiling until the jelly stiffens. Boiling must concentrate the juice and sugar enough for the pectin and acid to gel when cooled. Too little boiling leaves a runny jelly, while overcooking can make it stiff, dull, or sugary.
“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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