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 ↓
Gooseberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Gather gooseberries in dry weather and remove the tops and tails.
Prepare 1 quart of red currant juice as for jelly.
Make the jam
In a preserving pan, combine the red currant juice and sugar, stirring until dissolved.
Boil for about 5 minutes, then skim the mixture.
Add the gooseberries and boil for 30 to 45 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to an earthen pan and let it sit for 2 days.
Boil the jam again until it looks clear.
Jar and store
Pour into jars, cover with oiled paper, and seal with tissue paper brushed with egg white.
Store in a dry place.
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
What each ingredient does
- Gooseberries
- Provide the main fruit flavor and the bulk of the jam.
- Red-currant juice
- Adds natural pectin and tartness to help the jam set.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps preserve it while thickening the fruit.
The step that matters
Boiling the jam again until it looks clear. Boiling must continue long enough for the pectin and sugar to reach a set without over-darkening. Stopping too early leaves the jam loose and cloudy, while overcooking can scorch sugar and dull the flavor.
“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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