Name: Ratafia, Red
Ingredients: 1 drachm bruised cloves; 1 quart brandy; ¼ pound small black cherries; ¼ pound raspberries; ¼ pound strawberries; 1½ pounds black-heart cherries; ¼ pound loaf sugar; 2 tablespoons water

Why it works: Clove and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,362 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Ratafia, Red

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the fruit

Infuse bruised cloves in brandy for flavoring a fortnight before making the ratafia.
In a large bowl, combine black cherries, raspberries, strawberries, and black‑heart cherries. Bruise the fruit well.
Let the mixture stand for 24 hours, then drain off the juice.
Measure the juice.

Make the liqueur

For each pint, boil ¼ pound of loaf sugar with 2 tablespoons of water to make a clear syrup.
Add the syrup and 1 quart of flavored brandy to the juice.
Filter the liqueur through a jelly bag.
Bottle it and store for use.

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.

Clove + brandytop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,362 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Brandy + sugartop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together11,939 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Clove + sugartop 26% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together17,182 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

Brandy and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 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

Black-heart cherries: Provide the main fruit flavor and deep color for the liqueur.
Raspberries: Add fruity aroma and tartness to the juice.
Strawberries: Add fruity flavor and sweetness to the juice.
Brandy: Acts as the spirit base that extracts flavor and preserves the liqueur.
Loaf sugar: Sweetens the liqueur and balances the brandy's sharpness.