Why it works: Raisin and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,390 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
Apple Punch
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Cut six tart apples in quarters; core but do not pare.
Put apples into a preserving kettle and add one cup raisins, two bay leaves, a small piece of stick cinnamon, grated rind of three lemons, and two quarts cold water.
Let come to a boil and add two quarts more cold water, cover and let boil for thirty minutes.
Drain through a muslin bag.
Sweeten and serve
When cold add juice of three lemons and two pounds sugar; stir until sugar dissolved.
When ready to serve, add a little shaved ice.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | 1 medium (182g) | 95 |
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp ground (2.6g) | 6 |
| Bay Leaf | 1 leaf (0.6g) | 2 |
| 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.
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.
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Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Cinnamon + appletop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,598 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
-
Cinnamon + lemontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Raisin + appletop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,920 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Sugar
- Sweetens the punch and dissolves into the liquid to balance the lemon acidity.
- Lemons
- Add acidity and fragrant oils from the rind, brightening the flavour.
- Tart apples
- Release flavour and natural pectin into the cooking liquid, giving body and fruity taste.
- Raisins
- Add sweetness and a deeper fruity flavour to the cooking liquid.
The step that matters
Drain through a muslin bag. Pressing or squeezing the bag forces fine solids through and makes the punch cloudy. Letting it drain by gravity keeps the liquid clear.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, sugar, cinnamon, apple):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Pearfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, sugar, cinnamon, apple. 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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