Why it works: Cider and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,431 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓
Raspberry Shrub
Ingredients
Directions
Macerate the raspberries
Pick over the raspberries and place half in a jar.
Add the cider vinegar, cover, and let stand for 24 hours.
Strain the mixture through double cheesecloth.
Steep the remaining raspberries
Pour the obtained liquid over the remaining raspberries, cover, and let stand for another 24 hours.
Strain again through double cheesecloth.
Sweeten and bottle
For each cup of juice, add ½ pound of sugar.
Heat gradually until the sugar dissolves, then boil for 20 minutes.
Bottle and cork the mixture.
Dilute with iced water before serving.
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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Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,431 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Cider + sugartop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,308 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Raspberries
- Provide the main fruit flavor and color of the shrub.
- Cider vinegar
- Adds the sharp acidity that gives the shrub its tang.
- Sugar
- Sweetens and balances the acidity of the vinegar and fruit.
The step that matters
Heating the juice with sugar. Heating gradually lets the sugar dissolve fully without scorching on the bottom of the pan. A steady boil then concentrates the syrup and rounds out the balance between sweet and sour.
“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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