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Raisin Wine

A fermented beverage made from raisins, water, hops, sugar, and brandy.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Raisin Wine

Why it works: Raisin and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,768 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Raisin Wine

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the must

  1. Boil hops in water for 30 minutes.

  2. Let the water cool to lukewarm, then add the raisins.

  3. Transfer the mixture to a tub and let it ferment for 10 days, stirring 3-4 times daily.

Strain and age

  1. Strain the mixture through a sieve and press the raisins thoroughly.

  2. Pour the liquid into a barrel and let it sit for 4 months.

  3. After 4 months, add sugar and brandy.

  4. Let it sit for an additional 6-8 months.

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. Raisin + brandytop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,768 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  2. Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,481 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together11,939 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Hops + brandytop 27% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-hex-3-en-1-ol (freshly cut grass green and herbaceous notes).

  5. Hops + sugartop 43% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Sugar and brandy barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 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

Raisins
Provide the sugar and fruit flavour that the fermentation turns into wine.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and feeds the wine, raising its alcohol content as it ages.
Brandy
Adds alcohol, which strengthens the wine and helps preserve it.
Hops
Add bitterness and aroma that balance the sweetness of the fruit.

The step that matters

Stirring during the 10-day ferment. Stirring 3-4 times daily keeps the raisin cap moist and mixes in yeast and oxygen, so fermentation proceeds evenly instead of souring or stalling at the surface.

Swap the raisin

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

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Applefits better
  3. Peachfits better
  4. Raisinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against hops, sugar, 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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