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Blackberry Cordial

A sweet blackberry cordial made with blackberries, spices, sugar, and brandy.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Blackberry Cordial

Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Blackberry Cordial

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the juice

  1. Place blackberries in a preserving kettle and cook until scalded through.

  2. Strain and press out all the juice.

Spice and sweeten

  1. Combine allspice, cinnamon bark, cloves, and nutmegs in a bag.

  2. Add the spice bag to the juice in the kettle.

  3. Add loaf sugar to the juice, about 1 pound for every quart, or more if preferred.

Finish

  1. Cook slowly for 10 to 15 minutes.

  2. Remove from heat and let the mixture cool slightly.

  3. Add brandy in the proportion of 1 pint for every 3 pints of juice.

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.

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.

  1. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Allspice + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Allspice + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,331 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

Blackberries
Provide the juice, deep color and main fruit flavor of the cordial.
Loaf sugar
Sweetens the tart juice and balances the spice flavors.
Brandy
Adds alcohol that carries the spice aromas and helps the cordial keep.
Cinnamon bark
Contributes warm, sweet aroma to the juice.
Cloves
Contributes strong, pungent aroma and warmth to the juice.
Allspice
Adds a warm, peppery-sweet aroma to the juice.

The step that matters

Add the brandy after the mixture cools slightly. Alcohol evaporates and its volatile aroma compounds are lost when the mixture is boiling hot. Letting it cool first keeps more of the brandy and spice aroma in the finished cordial.

“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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