Why it works: Sugar and currant 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 ↓
Red Raspberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Combine sugar and currant juice in a kettle, then stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Add the raspberries and heat slowly at first.
Once heated, bring to a boil and skim off any foam.
Cook for about 15 to 20 minutes until thick and bright red.
Pour into glass jars or cups while hot.
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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Sugar + curranttop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,256 recipes
Sugar and currant 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 body, breaking down into the jam's thick texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it thicken and set as it cooks.
- Currant juice
- Adds natural acidity and extra pectin to help the jam set.
The step that matters
Heat slowly at first, then boil. Heating the raspberries gently at the start helps release their juice evenly and dissolve the sugar without scorching. Bringing the mixture to a boil only after that lets it thicken properly while the sugar and fruit reach the right concentration.
“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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