Why it works: Currant and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,057 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Currant Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Combine the currant juice, cold water, and granulated sugar in a large container.
Stir well and let the mixture stand for 24 hours.
Skim off any foam that forms on the surface.
Ferment
Place the container in a cool location and allow it to ferment slowly for 3 to 4 days.
If fermentation has stopped, add 1 quart of brandy for every 15 gallons of the mixture.
Seal the container tightly and wait for the wine to settle and become clear.
Bottle and age
Bottle the wine and let it age for 6 months before using.
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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Currant + brandytop 7% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,057 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Currant + sugartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,256 recipes
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
- Currant juice
- Provides the fruit flavor, acidity and base of the wine.
- Granulated sugar
- Feeds the yeast during fermentation, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide.
- Brandy
- Raises the alcohol content to help stop or stabilize fermentation when added.
The step that matters
Adding brandy only if fermentation has stopped. Brandy raises alcohol content, which halts yeast activity. Adding it while fermentation is still active can stop it too early and leave the wine sweet and unstable.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, brandy):
- Vanillafits better
- Apricotfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, brandy. 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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