Why it works: Brandy and wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,427 recipes. Both carry gamma-nonanolactone, which smells coconut, sweet. The science ↓
Raisin Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the must
Combine 1 gallon of water with 6 pounds of sun raisins in a tub.
Let it stand for 12 days, stirring frequently.
Press the raisins to extract as much liquid as possible.
Cask the wine
Transfer the liquid into a properly sized cask.
If making 10 gallons, add 1 quart of brandy.
For a richer wine, use 7 pounds of raisins and dissolve 5 pounds of sugar candy in the liquid before transferring to the barrel.
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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Brandy + winetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,427 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Raisin + brandytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,768 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Brandy + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Raisin + winetop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,324 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Brandy and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sun raisins
- Provide the sugars and flavor that ferment into the wine.
- Sugar candy
- Adds extra sweetness and fermentable sugar for a richer wine.
- Brandy
- Raises the alcohol content and adds warmth to the finished wine.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (brandy, sugar, wine):
- Vanillafits better
- Apricotfits better
- Applefits better
- Raisinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against brandy, sugar, wine. 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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