Why it works: Egg and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,340 recipes. Both carry acetoin, which smells butter, cream. The science ↓
Blackberry Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Make the juice
Boil the blackberries in enough water to prevent burning until tender.
Strain the mixture through a flannel jelly bag, pressing out all the juice.
Strain the juice two or three times through a clean cloth.
Return the juice to a clean preserving kettle.
Cook the jelly
For every pint of juice, add a pint of sugar and the beaten egg white.
Boil rapidly for 20 minutes, starting from when it begins to boil.
Test the jelly by placing a few drops on ice; if not clear, strain again.
Pot and seal
Pour the jelly into glasses.
Once firm, cut small papers to fit the tops, dip them in brandy, and place over the jelly.
Cover with larger papers brushed with egg white, pressing the edges to seal.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Egg + brandytop 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).
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
- Blackberries
- Provide the flavour and natural pectin-rich juice that sets the jelly.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and helps it set to a firm, spreadable texture.
- Egg white
- Clarifies the juice by binding impurities that are then strained out, giving a clear jelly.
- Brandy
- Adds aroma and flavour to the paper disc laid on the jelly surface.
The step that matters
Rapid boil and clearing test. Boiling rapidly for the stated time concentrates the juice and sugar so the jelly can set. Testing a few drops on ice shows whether it has reached a set and is clear. If it is cloudy, straining again removes the coagulated egg white particles.
“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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