Why it works: Clove and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Blackberry Cordial
Ingredients
Directions
Combine blackberry juice and sugar in a pot.
Add ginger, mace, allspice, cloves, and cinnamon to taste.
Boil the mixture and then strain it through a sieve.
Allow it to cool, then add 1 quart of brandy for every gallon of juice.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Allspice + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,536 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,038 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
- Blackberry juice
- Provides the main liquid and fruity flavor base for the cordial.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the tartness of the blackberry juice.
- Brandy
- Adds alcohol that preserves the cordial and contributes warm aroma.
The step that matters
Let the mixture cool before adding the brandy. Alcohol evaporates readily when heated, and high heat would drive off much of the brandy's alcohol and its delicate aromatics. Cooling first keeps the spirit's character in the finished cordial.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (blackberry, sugar, ginger, allspice, clove, cinnamon, brandy):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Thymefits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against blackberry, sugar, ginger, allspice, clove, cinnamon, 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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