Why it works: Sugar and red currant 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 ↓
Strawbeery or Raspberry Preserve
Ingredients
Directions
Pick the fruit and place it in a pot.
Add ¾ pound of sifted sugar for every pound of fruit.
If desired, add some red currant juice.
Boil the mixture for 30 minutes.
Skim off any foam that forms on the surface.
Pour the preserve into jars for storage.
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.
-
Sugar + red curranttop 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 or raspberries
- Provide the fruit flavour and pectin-bearing body that gives the preserve its texture.
- Sifted sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and helps the preserve thicken and keep well in storage.
The step that matters
Boiling for 30 minutes. Boiling concentrates the sugar and fruit so the mixture thickens and sets as it cools. Too little boiling leaves it runny and more prone to spoiling, while long boiling can darken the fruit and dull its 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.
You might also like
Red Currant Jelly65 recipes
Currant Ice Cream32 recipes
Currant Sherbet9 recipes
Currant and Raspberry Ice7 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.