Why it works: Black currant and sugar work together. They rank in the top 22% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 393 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Black Currant Jam
Ingredients
Directions
In a large pot, combine the black currants and sugar.
Heat gently until the sugar is dissolved.
Once dissolved, boil the mixture rapidly for 15 minutes.
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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Black currant + sugartop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together393 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Black currants
- Provide the fruit base, bulk, and tart flavour that defines the jam.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and, with boiling, helps the jam thicken and set and keeps it preserved.
The step that matters
Boil rapidly for 15 minutes. Sugar must be fully dissolved first so it does not crystallise. A rapid, full boil then drives off water and concentrates the pectin and sugar so the jam sets. Boiling too gently leaves it runny.
“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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