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Drink

Kummel Cordial

A homemade Kummel cordial made with sugar, alcohol, water, and Kummel oil.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Kummel Cordial

Ingredients

Directions

Make the syrup

  1. Pour boiling water over the sugar in a china-lined kettle.

  2. Stir over heat until dissolved.

  3. Bring to a boil and let it boil for 20 minutes.

  4. Set aside to cool and then strain.

Finish and store

  1. When lukewarm, add the alcohol and Kummel oil.

  2. Stir to mix thoroughly.

  3. Bottle and store for at least 1 month before using.

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

What each ingredient does

Granulated sugar
Dissolves into the boiled water to form a sweet syrup that gives the liqueur its body.
Alcohol
Acts as the solvent and preservative that carries the caraway and Kummel flavour.
Kummel oil
Provides the characteristic caraway aroma and flavour of the liqueur.

The step that matters

Adding the alcohol while lukewarm. Alcohol is volatile and evaporates readily when hot, and the aromatic oil can be dulled by heat, so the syrup should be cooled to lukewarm before the alcohol and oil are added.

“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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