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 in a bowl and add the red currant juice.
Stir in the sugar and mix well.
Cook and jar
Transfer to a preserving pan.
Cook over low heat, skimming off any foam.
Boil for 20 minutes.
Pour into sterilized jars and seal.
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
- Scarlet strawberries
- Provide the main fruit body, flavor, and pectin-bearing pulp for the jam.
- Red currant juice
- Adds tartness and acidity that brightens the flavor and supports gelling.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it set into a thick, spreadable texture.
The step that matters
Boil for 20 minutes. Sugar and fruit acid must be cooked to a high enough concentration for the pectin to set. Too little boiling leaves the jam runny, while overcooking can dull the fresh fruit flavor and darken the color.
“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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