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 ↓
Raspberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Layer the raspberries and sugar in a pot, mashing them together.
Let the mixture stand for 1 hour.
Cook
Add the currant juice and bring to a boil.
Boil for 30 minutes.
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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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
- Raspberries
- Provide the main fruit flavor and the bulk of the jam.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and, when boiled, thickens the fruit and helps the jam set.
- Currant juice
- Adds acidity and natural pectin, which helps the jam gel.
The step that matters
Boil for the full 30 minutes. Jam sets only when enough water evaporates and the sugar, fruit, and pectin reach the right concentration. Boiling too briefly leaves the jam runny, while boiling too long can scorch the sugar and darken 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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