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Dewberry Cordial

A sweet dewberry cordial made with juice, sugar, spices, and brandy.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Dewberry Cordial

Ingredients

Directions

Make the cordial

  1. Simmer the dewberry juice, sugar, nutmegs, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice in a covered saucepan for 30 minutes to prevent evaporation.

  2. Strain the mixture through a cloth.

  3. Allow it to cool, then add the brandy.

Bottle

  1. Bottle and cork tightly.

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. Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Nutmeg + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,331 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Dewberry juice
Provides the main fruit flavour and liquid base of the cordial.
Loaf sugar
Adds sweetness and body, and helps preserve the cordial.
French brandy
Adds alcohol that preserves the cordial and carries its aromatic flavour.
Nutmeg
Contributes warm, aromatic spice flavour.
Cinnamon
Contributes warm, sweet spice aroma.

The step that matters

Covered simmer. Simmering with the lid on keeps liquid from evaporating, so the sugar and juice stay in proportion and the spices steep into the liquid. Adding brandy only after cooling protects its alcohol and aroma from boiling off.

“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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