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 ↓
Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the currant juice
Strip the currants from the stalks and place them in a jar.
Put the jar in a saucepan of boiling water and simmer until the juice is well drawn from the fruit.
Strain the currants and measure the juice into a reserving pan.
Make the jam
Add the sugar to the red currant juice and stir until dissolved.
Pick the strawberries from the stalks and add them to the mixture.
Simmer the whole over moderate heat for 30 to 45 minutes, removing the scum as it rises.
Stir gently to prevent burning, keeping the fruit as whole as possible.
Pour the jam into jars and cover once cool.
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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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
- Strawberries
- Provide the fruit body and flavour of the jam and set the texture as they cook.
- Red currant juice
- Adds tartness and natural pectin to help the jam set.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it set and keep by drawing out water.
The step that matters
Simmering with the sugar and fruit. Sugar must dissolve fully before the fruit goes in, and the jam must simmer long enough to reach setting point. Stirring gently keeps the fruit whole and prevents sticking and scorching on the base of the pan.
“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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