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
Bruise the strawberries and add the red currant juice.
Sift in 11 ounces of sugar for every pound of fruit.
Place the mixture in a preserving pan over a clear fire.
Cook and pot
Skim off any foam and let it boil for 40 minutes.
When done, pour into pots and cover with brandy paper.
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 that the jam is built around.
- Red currant juice
- Adds extra natural acidity and pectin to help the jam set.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, with boiling, thickens it and helps preserve it.
The step that matters
Skim off any foam and boil for 40 minutes. Foam contains impurities that can cloud the jam or spoil its flavour if left in. Sugar must dissolve fully and the mixture must reach a steady boil so that enough water evaporates and the jam thickens and sets.
“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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