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 ↓
Currant and Raspberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Wash the currants and raspberries thoroughly.
Combine equal weights of currants and raspberries in a pot.
Cook and jar
Add sugar according to the amount of fruit used.
Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens.
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
- Red currants
- Provide natural pectin and tartness, helping the jam set and balancing the sweetness.
- Raspberries
- Contribute the main fruity aroma, flavor and color to the jam.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the fruit, helps the jam thicken and acts as a preservative.
The step that matters
Cook until the mixture thickens. Stopping too early leaves the jam runny because the sugar, fruit acids and pectin have not yet set it. Cooking too long or without stirring can scorch the sugar and dull the flavor.
“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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