Why it works: Raisin and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,781 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓
Sherry Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Combine
Combine prepared cider, spirits, raisins, sherry, and oil of bitter almonds in a large container.
Rest and draw off
Let the mixture stand for 10 days.
After 10 days, carefully draw off the liquid.
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.
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Raisin + almondtop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,781 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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Cider + sherrytop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together143 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl pentanoate (yeast, fruit).
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Sherry + almondtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together517 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Spirit + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together35 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Cider + spirittop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together26 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
- Prepared cider
- Forms most of the liquid and carries the other flavors.
- Spirits
- Raises the alcohol content, which helps preserve the finished wine.
- Raisins
- Add sweetness, body, and dried-fruit flavor as they steep.
- Sherry
- Adds its own wine flavor to the blend.
- Oil of bitter almonds
- Adds a strong almond aroma and flavor.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cider, spirit, sherry, almond):
- Applefits better
- Figfits better
- Apricotfits better
- Raisinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cider, spirit, sherry, almond. 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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