Why it works: Clove and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,038 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Elder Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Pick the elderberries.
Place the elderberries in a large pot.
Add 1 gallon of water.
Boil until the berries are soft.
Strain the mixture.
Press the berries until dry.
Return the liquid to the pot.
Add 4 pounds of sugar.
Boil for 1 hour.
Skim off any scum that forms.
Transfer the liquid to a tub.
Let the liquid cool.
Start fermentation
Toast a piece of bread.
Spread yeast on both sides of the bread.
Add the bread to the liquid.
Let the mixture sit for 2 nights.
Pour the mixture into a cask.
Add bruised cloves and ginger in a muslin bag.
Seal the cask, allowing air to enter until bubbling stops.
Seal the cask tightly.
Age and finish
Let it age for 12 months.
Check sweetness and age longer if needed.
Stir in 1 gallon of brandy.
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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Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,038 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Clove + brandytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,362 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Bread + brandytop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together976 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Sugar + gingertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together14,054 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Clove + breadtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,129 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Sugar and ginger barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 14,054 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
- Elderberries
- Provide the main fruit flavour, colour and body of the wine.
- Sugar
- Feeds the yeast to produce alcohol and adds sweetness to the finished wine.
- Yeast
- Converts sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide during fermentation.
- Brandy
- Raises the alcohol content and helps preserve the finished wine.
The step that matters
Let the cask finish fermenting before sealing tightly. Sealing too early can trap carbon dioxide and build pressure, while yeast needs air-exposed fermentation to stop bubbling first. Checking that bubbling has stopped before the tight seal helps keep the wine stable during ageing.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, clove, bread, brandy):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Allspicefits better
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, clove, bread, 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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