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Dandelion Cordial

A sweetened infusion of dandelion blossoms, citrus, spices, and yeast, steeped for six days.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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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 ↓

Dandelion Cordial

Ingredients

Directions

Combine

  1. Crush the dandelion blossoms, oranges, and lemons, then cover with brown sugar.

  2. Add cloves and cinnamon sticks.

  3. Place the mixture in a stone jar and pour boiling water over it.

Steep

  1. Let it stand for 6 days in a warm place, stirring frequently.

Strain and bottle

  1. Strain the mixture and return it to the jar.

  2. Add the compressed yeast and cover with cheesecloth.

  3. Once clarified, bottle the cordial.

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.

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. Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together10,634 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).

  3. Orange + cinnamontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,437 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Dandelion + lemontop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together57 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  5. Orange + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,987 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Dandelion blossoms
Provide the floral aroma and flavour that define the cordial.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and body, and draws flavour out of the fruit and flowers.
Lemons
Add acidity that brightens the sweetness and balances the flavour.
Compressed yeast
Starts fermentation, which develops flavour and drives clarification over time.
Cinnamon
Adds warm, sweet aroma to the infusion.
Cloves
Add a warm, spicy aroma that complements the citrus and cinnamon.

The step that matters

Steep for 6 days with frequent stirring. A long, warm steep lets flavour move from the blossoms and citrus into the sugar syrup. Stirring keeps the sugar dissolved and every piece in contact with the liquid, so the flavour is even.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (dandelion, sugar, orange, lemon, cinnamon):

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Cardamomfits better
  3. Gingerfits about as well
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against dandelion, sugar, orange, lemon, cinnamon. 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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