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Dessert

Currant and Raspberries Sweetmeat

A preserve made from red currants, raspberries, sugar, and best loaf, boiled and jarred.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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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 Raspberries Sweetmeat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Combine equal weights of red currants and raspberries in a bowl.

  2. Add ¾ pound of sugar to the fruit and cover it overnight.

Cook and jar

  1. The next day, boil the mixture slowly for 1 hour, skimming if necessary.

  2. Pour the sweetmeat into small jars while hot.

  3. Seal the jars with egg or brandy paper.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Red currant + sugartop 26% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked 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
Their natural pectin and tartness help the preserve set and balance the sweetness.
Raspberries
They add fruity aroma and flavour to the preserve.
Sugar
It sweetens the fruit, draws out moisture, and helps the mixture thicken and keep.

The step that matters

Boil slowly for 1 hour, skimming as needed. A long, gentle boil evaporates water and concentrates the sugar and fruit pectin so the mixture sets. Skimming removes foam and impurities, keeping the preserve clear and clean-tasting.

“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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