Why it works: Red currant and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 26% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,156 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Gooseberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Gather gooseberries in dry weather and trim the tops and tails.
Prepare 1 quart of red currant juice as for red currant jelly.
Make the jam
In a preserving pan, combine the red currant juice and sugar, stirring until dissolved.
Boil for about 5 minutes, skimming well.
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.
Pot and store
Pour into pots, 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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Red currant + sugartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,156 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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 body and tart flavour of the jam.
- Red currant juice
- Adds natural pectin and acidity to help the jam set.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps preserve it by drawing out water.
The step that matters
Boil the jam again until it looks clear. Sugar must fully dissolve before boiling, and the final boil must reach a set point. Undercooking leaves the jam runny and prone to spoiling, while overcooking can darken and toughen it.
“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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