Why it works: Sugar and sherry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 22% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,141 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Wine Sauce
Ingredients
Directions
In a saucepan, combine 1 pint of water and 1 oz of loaf sugar.
Add 2 tablespoons of marmalade and stir until dissolved.
Pour in ⅓ cup of sherry and mix well.
Heat gently until warmed through, then serve.
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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Sugar + sherrytop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,141 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Loaf sugar
- Dissolves into the liquid to add sweetness to the sauce.
- Marmalade
- Adds sweetness and bitter citrus flavour, and thickens the sauce slightly as it dissolves.
- Sherry
- Adds aroma and wine flavour, with a touch of acidity to balance the sweetness.
The step that matters
Heat gently until warmed through. Strong heat can drive off the volatile aromas of the sherry and may make the sugar and marmalade scorch or catch on the pan. Gentle heat keeps the flavour bright and the sauce smooth.
“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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