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 ↓
Currant Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the currants
Do not wash the currants; remove leaves and debris.
Cook and strain
In a porcelain-lined kettle, mash a few currants to release liquid.
Add the remaining currants and boil for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Strain the mixture through a fine bag into an earthen or wooden vessel.
Return the liquid to the kettle and proceed with your preferred jelly-making method.
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
- Currants
- Provide the natural pectin, acidity and fruit flavour that the jelly sets and tastes of.
- Granulated sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the juice thicken and set into a jelly.
The step that matters
Straining the mixture through a fine bag. Pressing or squeezing the bag pushes cloudy particles through and makes the jelly hazy. Letting the juice drip on its own gives a clear, bright set.
“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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