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
Make the jam
Crush the raspberries well in a preserving kettle.
Add the white sugar and currant juice.
Boil gently until the mixture jellies on a cold plate.
Jar and store
Pour into small jars and cover with brandied paper.
Tie a thick paper over the jars and store in a dark, cool, and dry place.
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
- Ripe red raspberries
- Provide the main fruit flavor, color, and bulk of the jam.
- White sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the jam set and keep well.
- Currant juice
- Adds acidity and pectin, which help the jam gel.
The step that matters
Boil gently until the mixture jellies on a cold plate. Sugar, acid, and pectin only set into a gel at the right concentration. Stopping too early leaves the jam runny, while cooking too long makes it dark, stiff, and sticky.
“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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