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 ↓
Black or Red Currant Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare and cook the fruit
Pick the currants and place them in an earthen jar.
Cook in a moderate oven (350°F / 175°C) until the fruit falls apart.
Strain and set
Strain the juice from the fruit.
Add 1 lb of sugar for every pint of juice and boil until it thickens.
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
- Supply natural pectin and acid that help the juice set into a firm jelly.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the tart juice and helps it thicken into a gel when boiled.
The step that matters
Boiling the juice with sugar until it thickens. Sugar, pectin and acid only form a gel once the mixture reaches a high enough temperature and concentration. Stopping the boil too early leaves a runny jelly, while boiling too long can make it stiff and 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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