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 ↓
Red, or Black Raspberry Jam
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Wash the currants and raspberries well.
Boil the fruit for 20 minutes.
Make the jam
Weigh the fruit and add 3-4 pounds of sugar for every pound of fruit.
Boil the mixture together until it thickens.
To test, spread a small quantity on a plate; if it sets, it's ready.
Pack and seal
Pack the jam in glass or stone jars and seal when cold.
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
- Contribute pectin and acidity, which help the jam set and give it a bright tang.
- Raspberries
- Add flavour and fruit body, giving the jam its characteristic taste and texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the jam and, with the fruit's pectin and acid, helps it set and keep.
The step that matters
Boil until the jam thickens and passes the plate test. Jam sets when sugar concentration, pectin and acid reach the gel point. Stopping too early leaves it runny, while cooking too long makes it stiff and dull. The plate test checks the set before jarring.
“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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