Why it works: Currant and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,057 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Currant Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Combine and rest
Combine 3 quarts of water, 2 quarts of currant juice, and 4 pounds of sugar in a large container.
Let the mixture stand for 2 to 3 days.
Add brandy and raspberry juice
Add 3 quarts of brandy and 1 gallon of raspberry juice mixed with 4 pounds of sugar for 10 gallons.
Cask and age
Put the bung in the cask but do not seal it tightly until the hissing stops, which may take up to 2 weeks.
After the hissing stops, seal the cask tightly and let it stand for 12 months.
Taste the wine after 4 to 5 months to check sweetness, as it may vary by year.
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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Currant + brandytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,057 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Currant + raspberrytop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together366 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl benzoate (fruity, sweet).
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Brandy + raspberrytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together235 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-hex-3-en-1-ol (freshly cut grass green and herbaceous notes).
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Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + raspberrytop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,101 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Sugar and brandy 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
- Currant juice
- Provides the main fruit flavour and acidity that give the wine its character.
- Granulated sugar
- Feeds the fermentation that produces alcohol and adds sweetness to the finished wine.
- Brandy
- Raises the alcohol content, adding strength and helping preserve the wine during aging.
- Raspberry juice
- Adds extra fruit flavour and aroma to the wine.
The step that matters
Leave the bung loose until the hissing stops. Hissing means fermentation is still releasing carbon dioxide. Sealing the cask too early traps that gas and can build pressure that forces out the bung or damages the cask, while the wine keeps fermenting.
Swap the raspberry
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (currant, sugar, brandy):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits about as well
- Raspberrythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against currant, sugar, brandy. 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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