Why it works: Sugar and red currant 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 ↓
Raspberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the pulp
Rub fresh raspberries through a wicker sieve on a dry day.
Make the jam
In a preserving pan, combine the raspberry pulp with the sugar over a brisk fire.
When it begins to boil, skim it well and stir for twenty minutes.
Pot and cover
Pour into small pots.
Cut white paper to fit the tops of the pots.
Dip the paper in brandy.
Place over the jam when cold.
Secure with double paper.
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 + red curranttop 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
- Raspberries
- Provide the fruit flavour and most of the body of the jam once cooked down.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and helps it set and keep once boiled.
- Red currant juice
- Adds natural pectin and tartness to help the jam set and balance sweetness.
The step that matters
Skimming and stirring during the boil. Skimming removes foam that can cloud the jam and spoil its appearance. Stirring during the boil prevents the sugar from scorching on the bottom of the pan and helps the mixture reduce evenly.
“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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