Name: Elderberry Blossom Wine
Ingredients: one quart elderberry blossoms picked from the stem; one gallon water; three pounds sugar; one tablespoonful of yeast well stirred; one ounce of isinglass to every six gallons; one pound of raisins; six gallons

Why it works: Elderberry and raisin work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Elderberry Blossom Wine

Ingredients

one quart elderberry blossoms picked from the stem
one gallon water
three pounds sugar
one tablespoonful of yeast well stirred
one ounce of isinglass to every six gallons
one pound of raisins
six gallons

Directions

Make the must

Combine one quart elderberry blossoms picked from the stem, one gallon water, and three pounds sugar.
When cold, add juice of a large lemon and one tablespoonful of yeast, well stirred in.
Ferment three days in a stone jar covered with a woolen cloth.

Clarify and age

Strain and add one ounce of isinglass to every six gallons.
Put in the cask one pound of raisins (cat in half) to every gallon wine.
Bottle in six months.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

566Calories

14 gProtein

2 gFat

124 gCarbs

Counts 3 of 5 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 3 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Elderberry	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.

By Towanda, Pa. Christ church. Young ladies society. [from old catalog]. 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. See the original page.

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.

Elderberry + raisintop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together12,481 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Elderberry + sugartop 24% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together30 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Elderberry blossoms: Provide the characteristic floral aroma and flavour of the wine.
Sugar: Feeds the yeast during fermentation and sets the wine's sweetness and alcohol level.
Yeast: Converts the sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide during fermentation.
Isinglass: Fining agent that helps clear the wine by collecting suspended particles.
Raisins: Add body, fruit flavour and extra sugar to the wine in the cask.