Why it works: Vinegar and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,806 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Raspberry Shrub
Ingredients
Directions
Make the infusion
Combine vinegar and raspberries in a jar and let sit overnight.
Strain the mixture to obtain the liquid.
Cook and store
Add 1 pound of sugar for each pint of the liquid and boil for 30 minutes.
Allow to cool, then bottle and seal.
Store in a cool place.
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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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Vinegar
- Provides the sharp acidity that defines the shrub and helps extract flavor from the raspberries.
- Raspberries
- Supply the main fruit flavor, aroma and color to the liquid.
- Sugar
- Balances the acidity with sweetness and helps preserve the finished syrup.
The step that matters
Adding the sugar and boiling. The sugar must be measured per pint of strained liquid, so the ratio is correct. Boiling dissolves the sugar fully and gives a stable syrup that keeps well when sealed.
“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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