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Drink

Claret Cup

A punch of claret, Apollinaris mineral water, brandy, lemon, orange, cucumber peel and Maraschino cherries, with a second cocktail variation given.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Kaufman, Nettie M · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Lemon and orange match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,634 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

Claret Cup

Ingredients

Directions

Make the punch

  1. Mix claret, Apollinaris, brandy and juice of lemons.

  2. Slice the oranges into the pitcher.

  3. Add cucumber peel.

  4. Add sugar and mix well.

  5. Once in the pitcher, throw in the cherries and place a bunch of mint on the pitcher's edge.

  6. Mix thoroughly with some cracked ice.

Prepare and serve the glasses

  1. Take an empty cocktail glass and moisten the edge on a piece of lemon.

  2. Dip the edge in powdered sugar, holding the glass upside down.

  3. In each glass put a cherry and ½ teaspoon Maraschino.

  4. Fill glass with cocktail mixture.

  5. If desired, add more sugar.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

139Calories
2 gProtein
0 gFat
35 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
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Orange1 medium (131g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Cucumber1/2 cup sliced (52g)16
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Peppermintnot in our table0
Brandynot in our table0

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

By Kaufman, Nettie M. 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.

  1. Lemon + orangetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,634 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  2. Mint + lemontop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,998 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Mint + cucumbertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together884 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Mint + orangetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together549 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  5. Lemon + cucumbertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,067 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

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

What each ingredient does

Claret (in the method)
Forms the wine base that gives the punch its body and fruit flavour.
Brandy
Adds strength and warmth, balancing the sweetness and fruit.
Oranges
Contribute juice and citrus aroma that brighten the punch.
Sugar
Sweetens the punch and softens the acidity of the lemon and wine.

Swap the cucumber

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, mint, lemon, orange, brandy):

  1. Arrowrootfits better
  2. Sweet potatofits about as well
  3. Carrotfits about as well
  4. Cucumberthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, mint, lemon, orange, 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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