Why it works: Apple and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 3,784 recipes mention both. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
The recipe
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the cherries
Stew eight pounds of Morello cherries and eight pounds of black cherries.
Bruise the cherries through a funnel into a demijohn with a stick so the liquid may reach the stones.
Pour one gallon of rectified whiskey over the cherries.
Let stand several months, or as long as you choose.
Make the liquor
Then pour off the liquid, shake the cherries out of the demijohn, and cover them with water.
Bruise the cherries well and, if possible, crush some of the stones.
Let them stand one hour.
Strain the liquor, add five pounds of sugar, and mix all the liquor together.
After standing until settled, it is ready for use.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Apple + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together3,784 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Morello cherries
- Provide the main fruit flavor and juice for the bounce.
- Black cherries
- Add extra fruit body and depth of cherry flavor.
- Rectified whiskey
- Extracts flavor from the cherries and preserves the liquor.
- Sugar (in the method)
- Adds sweetness to balance the sharp, tart cherry and spirit flavors.
The step that matters
Let the whiskey steep for several months. Alcohol slowly draws flavor, color and aroma out of the cherry flesh and stones over time, so a short steep yields a thin, harsh liquor.
“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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