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 ↓
Currant Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Make the jelly
Boil the juice of red currants with 1 lb of sugar until reduced.
Alternatively, mix the juice of red currants with equal amounts of white sugar.
Stir gently and smoothly for three hours.
Set and serve
Pour into glasses and let it set for three days until firm.
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
- Red currant juice
- Provides the fruit flavour and the natural pectin and acid that help the jelly set.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and, when boiled down, helps it thicken and set firm.
The step that matters
Reducing the boiled juice and sugar. Boiling must be carried far enough to concentrate the sugar and pectin; too little reduction leaves a runny jelly that will not set, while over-boiling can make it stiff or caramelised.
“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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