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 ↓
Red Currant and Raspberry Shape
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Strain the fruit pulp from the raspberries and red currants, either raw or stewed with a little water.
Make the jelly
In a saucepan, combine 1 quart of liquid with sugar and bring to a boil.
Mix the cornflour with a little cold water until smooth, then stir it into the boiling mixture.
Continue boiling until it thickens and pulls away from the sides of the pan.
Pour the mixture into a wet mold and let it cool before turning it out.
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
- Cornflour
- Thickens the liquid into a firm, sliceable jelly as it cooks and sets.
- Red currants
- Provide tartness and acidity along with body from their pulp.
- Raspberries
- Supply the main fruit flavour and aroma, and pulp for the jelly.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the sharpness of the currants.
The step that matters
Continue boiling until it thickens and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Cornflour only thickens fully when the mixture reaches a hard boil. Stopping early leaves it runny and it will not set firmly when cooled.
“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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