Why it works: Vinegar and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,806 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Raspberry Vinegar
Ingredients
Directions
Infuse the vinegar
Combine 1 quart of vinegar with 2 lbs of ripe raspberries in a container and let it stand for 24 hours.
Strain the mixture through a sieve.
Repeat the process with 2 quarts of raspberries and the same vinegar, letting it stand for another 24 hours before straining.
Sweeten and cook
For every pint of vinegar, add 1 lb of sugar.
Transfer the mixture to a stone jar and place it in a pot of water over heat.
Boil until the mixture is clear.
Bottle
Bottle and seal the raspberry vinegar.
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.
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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Raspberries
- Provide the main fruit flavor, aroma and color that the vinegar takes on.
- Vinegar
- Acts as the solvent that draws flavor from the fruit and gives the sharp, acidic character.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the vinegar's tartness.
The step that matters
Boil until the mixture is clear. Heating in a water bath lets the sugar dissolve fully and the liquid settle. Overboiling can darken the color and dull the fresh raspberry aroma, while stopping too early leaves a cloudy, less stable syrup.
“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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