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 ↓
Gooseberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Gather the gooseberries in dry weather.
Remove the tops and tails.
Prepare 1 quart of red-currant juice as for red-currant jelly.
Make the jam
Combine the red-currant juice and sugar in a preserving pan. Stir until the sugar dissolves.
Boil the mixture for about 5 minutes. Skim well.
Add the gooseberries.
Boil for 30 to 45 minutes.
Transfer the mixture to an earthen pan and let it sit for 2 days.
Boil the jam again until it looks clear.
Pot and store
Pour into pots.
Cover with oiled paper.
Seal with tissue paper brushed with egg white.
Store in a 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.
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
- Gooseberries
- Provide the main fruit flavor and, as they cook down, the body of the jam.
- Red-currant juice
- Adds acidity and natural pectin to help the jam set.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, at this quantity, helps preserve it and give it a gel-like set.
The step that matters
Boil the jam again until it looks clear. Sugar and fruit acids must concentrate enough for the jam to set, but overcooking can darken and stiffen it. Stop when the surface looks clear and glossy.
“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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