Why it works: Sugar and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,939 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Strawberry Preserves
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Select the largest strawberries and hull them.
Weigh the strawberries and use an equal amount of sugar.
Layer strawberries and sugar in a preserving kettle until half the sugar is used.
Make the syrup
Heat over moderate fire until the sugar melts.
Gradually add the remaining sugar and boil hard for 5 minutes, skimming off any scum.
Carefully remove the strawberries with a spoon and spread them on flat dishes to cool.
Boil the syrup again, skimming if necessary.
Strain the syrup into a mug or pitcher.
Jar and seal
Place strawberries in glass jars and pour equal portions of syrup over them.
Seal jars with a round piece of white paper dipped in brandy.
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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Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and brandy barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 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
- Strawberries
- Provide the fruit, which holds its shape and flavor when cooked gently in sugar.
- Double refined loaf sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and, at this high ratio, thickens the syrup and helps preserve it.
The step that matters
Boil the syrup hard for 5 minutes after adding the remaining sugar. Sugar must be fully dissolved and the syrup brought to a hard boil so it reaches a concentration that resists spoilage and sets properly. Skimming removes scum that would cloud the preserves and spoil faster.
“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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