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Strawberries, Preserved

A method of preserving strawberries by sugaring, boiling, and sealing them in jars with brandy.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Why it works: Sugar and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,939 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Strawberries, Preserved

Ingredients

Directions

Macerate

  1. Spread the strawberries thinly on porcelain plates.

  2. Sprinkle the sugar over the strawberries.

  3. Let the strawberries sit overnight.

Cook the syrup

  1. Transfer the strawberries and juice to a porcelain preserving kettle.

  2. Heat over low heat until hot but not boiling.

  3. Remove the strawberries with a skimmer.

  4. Spread the strawberries back on the plates to cool.

  5. Strain the syrup through a linen cloth and return it to the kettle.

  6. Boil the syrup for 2 minutes, skimming well.

  7. Remove the syrup from heat.

  8. Add the strawberries to the syrup.

  9. Cover the mixture.

  10. Place it in a cool spot until the next morning.

  11. Repeat the heating process for four mornings.

  12. Ensure the strawberries remain in the syrup until done.

Jar and seal

  1. Pack the strawberries into pint or half-pint wide-mouthed glass jars.

  2. Cover the jars with double writing paper dipped in brandy.

  3. Cork and seal the jars.

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.

  1. Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together11,939 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Sugar and brandy 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

Strawberries
Provide the fruit that is preserved, keeping their shape and flavor in the syrup.
White granulated sugar
Draws out juice and forms a thick syrup that preserves the fruit and adds sweetness.
Brandy
Dipped paper covers the jars, adding aroma and helping to seal the surface against spoilage.

The step that matters

Heating the syrup without boiling the fruit. Heating gently to hot but not boiling keeps the strawberries whole and firm. Vigorous boiling breaks down the fruit and makes it mushy, so the repeated gentle heating is what preserves texture.

“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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