Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg 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 ↓
Blackberry Cordial
Ingredients
Directions
Make the juice
Boil the blackberries with water and strain them.
To the juice, add crushed sugar and boil while skimming off any foam.
Flavour and bottle
Stir in cloves and cinnamon.
Once cooled, add brandy and grated nutmegs.
Bottle and seal the cordial.
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Blackberry + clovetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together212 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Blackberry + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together362 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Blackberries
- Provide the main fruit flavour and colour, and the juice that forms the cordial's base.
- Crushed sugar
- Adds sweetness and body, and helps preserve the cordial.
- Brandy
- Acts as a spirit that preserves the cordial and adds warmth.
- Cloves
- Contribute a warm, pungent aroma and spicy flavour.
- Cinnamon
- Contributes a sweet, warm aroma and spicy flavour.
The step that matters
Skimming the foam while boiling the sugar into the juice. Foam is made of impurities and proteins rising from the fruit and sugar; removing it keeps the cordial clear and prevents off flavours. Skimming during the boil is what keeps the finished liquid clean.
Swap the blackberry
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, clove, cinnamon, brandy, nutmeg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Blackberrythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, clove, cinnamon, brandy, nutmeg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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