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Syeups and Ratafias

A grape-based liqueur flavored with apricot stones, mint, orange flower, and anise seed.

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 ↓

Syeups and Ratafias

Ingredients

Directions

Make the base

  1. Combine 6 pints of grape must with 2 pints of brandy and 2 pounds of grape syrup in a large container.

  2. Mix well to create a base for 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. Store upright for 10 days; the liqueur may effervesce.

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

Grape must
Provides the fermentable grape base and most of the liquid body of the liqueur.
Brandy
Adds alcohol strength and aroma, helping preserve the liqueur.
Grape syrup
Adds sweetness and body to balance the spirit.
Apricot stones
Contribute a subtle almond-like aroma through the infusion.
Mint
Adds a fresh, aromatic herbal flavour through the infusion.

The step that matters

Store upright for 10 days. The record notes the liqueur may effervesce, so the sealed bottles can build pressure as fermentation continues. Storing upright and keeping the bottles sealed tightly helps contain the gas and keeps the liquid in its container while it settles.

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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