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 ↓
Gooseberry Paste
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Cut gooseberries in half and remove all seeds.
Boil gooseberries in currant juice until tender.
Make the syrup
Combine sugar with enough water to dissolve it.
Boil until it reaches a syrup consistency.
Combine and set
Combine the gooseberry mixture with the sugar syrup.
Heat until scalding hot, but do not boil.
Pour into plates or glasses.
Allow to dry.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
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
- Gooseberries
- Provide the main fruit flavour and the body of the jam once cooked until tender.
- Currant juice
- Adds liquid for cooking the gooseberries and contributes tart, fruity flavour.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, as it cooks, helps it thicken and set.
The step that matters
Heat until scalding hot, but do not boil. Boiling the combined mixture can overcook the fruit and break down its pectin, weakening the set. Heating just to scalding keeps the jam hot enough to combine well without losing its structure.
“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.
More gooseberry jam recipes
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.