Why it works: Sugar and currant 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 ↓
Raspberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Gather raspberries on a dry day and ensure they are perfectly dry.
Mash the raspberries in a large basin.
For a smoother jam, strain through a wire or coarse sieve to remove seeds.
Cook the jam
Boil an equal weight of loaf sugar until it caramelizes.
Add the raspberries to the caramelized sugar and boil for 30 minutes, stirring constantly.
Optionally, add a little currant juice for flavor.
Store
Transfer the jam to pots 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.
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.
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Sugar + curranttop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,256 recipes
Sugar and currant 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
- Raspberries
- Provide the main fruit flavour, pectin-free bulk, and the body of the jam once cooked.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, once boiled, helps it set and preserves it.
- Currant juice
- Adds extra fruit flavour and acidity to the jam.
The step that matters
Boiling with constant stirring. Boiling for the full 30 minutes while stirring concentrates the sugar and fruit so the jam thickens and sets, and stirring prevents the sugar from scorching on the bottom of the pan.
“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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