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 ↓
Preserved Whole Currants
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the currants
Remove currants from the stem.
In a pot, heat the currants over medium heat.
Once warm, add the heated sugar.
Cook and store
Boil for 30 minutes, stirring gently to keep the currants whole.
Transfer to a glass jar and seal tightly.
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 fruit, flavour and tart body of the preserve.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and, in a boiled syrup, helps preserve it by drawing out water.
The step that matters
Boiling gently while stirring. Stirring gently keeps the currants whole. Vigorous stirring or rough boiling can split the skins and break the fruit apart, while the sugar syrup slowly draws water out so the fruit firms and keeps its shape.
“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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