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 ↓
Red Currant Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Wash and drain the currants, then remove them from the stalks.
Mash the currants with the back of a spoon.
Place the mashed currants in a jelly bag and squeeze to extract the juice.
Make the jelly
In a kettle, combine the currant juice and sugar.
Boil for 15 minutes, skimming the surface continuously.
Pour the warm jelly into glasses and set them in the sun for several hours.
Once cold, cover the glasses with brandy paper.
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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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 currants
- Their natural pectin and acidity let the juice set into a firm, tart jelly.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the juice and helps it thicken into a stable, spreadable gel as it boils.
The step that matters
Boil for 15 minutes, skimming the surface continuously. Boiling concentrates the juice and sugar so the pectin can gel on cooling. Skimming removes foam and impurities, keeping the jelly clear and clean-tasting.
“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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