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 (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Extract the juice
Pick the currants and place them in an earthen jar.
Cook in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until the fruit falls apart.
Strain off the juice.
Make and set the jelly
Add 1 lb of sugar for every pint of juice.
Boil until it sets when poured on a plate.
Pour into small jars or molds.
Cover when cold.
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
- Provide the juice, acidity and natural pectin that allow the jelly to set.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the juice and, with boiling, helps it thicken into a firm gel.
The step that matters
Boil until it sets when poured on a plate. Jelly sets only when sugar, acid and pectin are concentrated enough. Boiling evaporates water, so stopping too early leaves a runny jelly, while the test on a cold plate shows when the gel point is reached.
“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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