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 ↓
Cureant Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Remove stems from currants and place them in a stone jar.
Bruise the currants with a wooden spoon and warm them.
Squeeze the mixture through a coarse cloth or flannel to extract the juice.
Make the jelly
In a new tin pan or porcelain kettle, combine 4 cups of currant juice with 4 pounds of sugar.
Boil the mixture for 15 minutes.
Avoid using iron spoons or tin dishes unless they are new and bright to maintain color.
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.
-
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
- Currants
- Provide the juice that sets into the jelly and gives its tart flavor and color.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the juice and helps it set into a firm, spreadable jelly.
The step that matters
Boiling the juice and sugar. The mixture must reach a full, steady boil so enough water evaporates and the sugar and fruit pectin can gel. Under-boiling leaves a runny jelly, while overcooking can darken and dull the color.
“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.
More currant jelly recipes
You might also like
Currant Ice Cream32 recipes
Currant Sherbet9 recipes
Currant and Raspberry Ice7 recipes
White Cake431 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.