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 ↓
Red Currant Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Carefully strip the currants from the stems and place them in a preserving pan.
Gently stir the currants over a clear fire until the juice flows freely.
Squeeze the currants and strain the juice through a folded muslin or jelly bag.
Make the jelly
Pour the juice into a preserving pan and add the sugar in the proportion of 1 pound of sugar to 1 pint of juice.
Boil the mixture, skimming off any scum until it ceases to rise.
Pour the jelly into pots while still boiling.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
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 the juice, which contains the pectin and acid that let the jelly set.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the juice and helps the jelly set and keep well.
- Isinglass
- Optional gelling agent that helps the jelly set firmly.
The step that matters
Boil until the scum stops rising. Skimming removes foam and impurities that would cloud the jelly. The boil must be long enough to concentrate the sugar and juice so the jelly reaches a set point rather than staying runny.
“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.
You might also like
Currant Ice Cream32 recipes
Currant Sherbet9 recipes
Currant and Raspberry Ice7 recipes
White Cake431 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.