Name: Saratoga Brace Up
Ingredients: 1 table-spoonful of fine white sugar; 2 dashes of Angostura bitters; 4 dashes of lemon or lime juice; 2 dashes of Absinthe; 1 fresh egg; 1 wine-glass of brandy; 2 or 3 small lumps of ice; seltzer water

Why it works: Wine and brandy 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 ↓

Saratoga Brace Up

Ingredients

Directions

Shake all ingredients thoroughly.
Strain into another glass.
Fill it up with seltzer water.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

150Calories

7 gProtein

6 gFat

21 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 6 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Brandy	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

Wine + brandytop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,427 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Lemon + winetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,157 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Egg + brandytop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,340 recipes

Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together44,316 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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

Fresh egg: Adds body and a silky, frothy texture when shaken hard with the other ingredients.
Brandy: Provides the spirit base and the warm, fruity aroma of the drink.
Fine white sugar: Sweetens the drink and balances the sourness of the citrus juice.
Lemon or lime juice: Adds acidity that brightens the drink and offsets the sweetness.

The step that matters

Shake all ingredients thoroughly. Vigorous shaking with ice chills the drink, dilutes it slightly, and breaks up the raw egg so it emulsifies and aerates. Short shaking leaves the egg unblended and the texture thin and uneven.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, wine, brandy):

Vanillafits better
Apricotfits better
Applefits better
Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, wine, 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.

Lemon Wine31 recipes

Wine Whey111 recipes

Raisin Wine64 recipes

Egg Wine58 recipes

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Saratoga Brace Up