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 juice
Mash the currants with a wooden spoon and squeeze the juice through a jelly bag.
For every pint of juice, add a pound of sugar and stir until dissolved.
Dissolve the isinglass in warm water and add it to the juice to clarify the jelly.
Cook and set
Boil the mixture and skim off any foam until a jelly forms.
Remove from heat and pour into glasses while warm.
Cover with brandy paper and seal the glasses the next day.
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.
-
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
- Currant juice
- Provides the main fruit flavour, tartness and the pectin that helps the jelly set.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and, with boiling, helps it thicken and set firmly.
- Isinglass
- A gelatin-like clarifying agent that helps the jelly become clear and firm.
The step that matters
Skimming the foam while boiling. Foam contains impurities and air bubbles that can cloud the jelly. Removing it keeps the finished jelly clear and smooth, and boiling to the point of setting ensures it firms properly.
“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.
More currant jelly recipes
You might also like
Currant Ice Cream32 recipes
Currant Sherbet9 recipes
Currant and Raspberry Ice7 recipes
White Cake431 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.