Why it works: Brandy and wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,427 recipes. Both carry gamma-nonanolactone, which smells coconut, sweet. The science ↓
Caudle
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare the gruel until it is thick and smooth.
Heat and serve
In a clean stewpan, bring the gruel to a boil.
Stir in 1 tablespoon of brandy for each pint of gruel.
Serve with salt or sugar, and add wine or cream if desired, but do not let it boil again.
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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Brandy + winetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,427 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Brandy + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,738 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Wine + milktop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,116 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (fenugreek, curry).
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Brandy + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gruel
- The thick base that gives the drink its body and warmth.
- Brandy
- Adds aroma and a warming alcoholic flavour.
- Wine
- Adds acidity and fruity flavour when used.
- Milk or cream
- Adds richness and a softer, smoother mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Do not let it boil again after adding brandy. Once brandy, wine or cream is added, boiling drives off the alcohol's aroma and can make dairy separate or curdle. Keep it hot but below a boil.
“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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