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Syrups and Ratafias

A liqueur made from preserved grape must, brandy, grape syrup, and flavored infusions.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Grape and apricot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 477 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓

Syrups and Ratafias

Ingredients

Directions

Make the base

  1. Combine the grape must, brandy, and grape syrup in a large container and mix well to create a base for the liqueurs.

Infuse and bottle

  1. Prepare infusions of apricot stones, mint, orange flower, and anise seed in advance.

  2. Add the infusions to the mixture and filter well.

  3. Bottle the liqueur and seal tightly.

  4. Let the bottles sit upright for ten days to develop effervescence.

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. Grape + apricottop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together477 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  2. Orange + anisetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together44 recipes

    Shared aroma: pinene (pine, turpentine).

  3. Grape + orangetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,771 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  4. Apricot + orangetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together703 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  5. Brandy + apricottop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together513 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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

What each ingredient does

Preserved grape must
Provides the grape base, sugars and fruit flavour of the liqueur.
Brandy
Adds alcohol, which carries aroma and helps preserve the liqueur.
Grape syrup
Adds sweetness and body to the liqueur.
Apricot stones
Contribute an almond-like aroma through infusion.
Mint
Contributes a cool, fresh aromatic flavour through infusion.
Anise seed
Contributes a sweet licorice-like aroma through infusion.

The step that matters

Filtering after adding the infusions. Infusions can leave fine plant particles that cloud the liqueur and affect its texture. Filtering thoroughly removes them, so the finished liqueur is clear and smooth.

Swap the mint

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (grape, brandy, syrup, apricot, orange, anise):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Clovefits better
  3. Gingerfits better
  4. Mintthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against grape, brandy, syrup, apricot, orange, anise. 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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