Why it works: Currant and sugar 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 ↓
Currant and Raspberry Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Combine equal quantities of currants and raspberries.
Strain the juice from the fruit.
Make the jelly
For every pint of juice, add one pound of sugar.
Cook the mixture until it reaches the desired jelly consistency.
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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Currant + sugartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,256 recipes
Currant and sugar 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
- Currants
- Provide natural pectin and acidity, which help the juice set into a firm jelly.
- Raspberries
- Add fruity aroma and flavor, and contribute juice to the jelly.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and, with pectin and acid, helps the jelly gel.
The step that matters
Cooking to the desired consistency. Sugar, pectin and acid form a gel only when the mixture is boiled to the right concentration. Undercooked jelly stays runny, while overcooked jelly becomes stiff and can turn dark and taste scorched.
“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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