Why it works: Sugar and raisin are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,481 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
How to Cook Cranberries
Ingredients
Directions
Bring the water to a rapid boil in a pot.
Add the cranberries and cover the pot.
When the berries are breaking down, add the baking soda and stir thoroughly.
Add sugar to taste and boil for 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove from heat and serve, optionally adding raisins.
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 + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 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
- Cranberries
- Provide the tart fruit base that softens and breaks down into the sauce.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the cranberries' natural tartness.
- Baking soda
- Raises the pH, which helps the cranberries break down and changes their color.
The step that matters
Adding the baking soda. Only a pea-sized amount is called for. Baking soda is alkaline and can make the sauce taste soapy or metallic if too much is added, and it can cause a sudden foam when it hits the hot liquid.
“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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