Why it works: Raspberry and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,101 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Very Rich Raspberry Jam or Marmalade
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Weigh the finest raspberries and crush them with a wooden spoon.
Cook the jam
Boil the crushed raspberries gently for about 5 minutes, stirring well.
Gradually add nearly equal weight of sugar and boil rapidly for 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove all scum as it rises and check for a clear, thick consistency.
Once thickened, remove from heat immediately to prevent setting.
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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Raspberry + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,101 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
- Raspberries
- Provide the fruit body, flavour and natural pectin and acid that help the jam set.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and thickens the jam while helping preserve it and set the gel.
- Raspberry juice
- Adds moisture and extra fruit flavour, helping the crushed fruit cook into a spreadable mass.
The step that matters
Judging when the jam has thickened. Sugar, fruit acid and pectin form a gel only at the right concentration. Stopping too early leaves the jam runny, while boiling too long over-thickens it and can make it stiff or dull in flavour.
“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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