Why it works: Brandy and sugar 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 ↓
Cherry Brandy
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Bruise the black cherries.
Strain the juice through a flannel bag.
Pound the stones until broken.
Place the broken stones in a stone jar.
Pour enough brandy over the stones to cover them.
Make the syrup
Heat the mixture in a pan of water until boiling.
Strain the mixture through the bag.
Pour a little boiling water over the fruit pulp.
Add 2 pounds of sugar to the strained liquid.
Boil the liquid, then skim it.
Wait until the liquid has cooled.
Mix the cooled liquid with the cherry juice.
Mix in the juice of 2 quarts of raspberries.
Steep, settle and bottle
Transfer the mixture to a stone jar.
Shake the jar for 3–4 days.
Let the contents settle for 4 days.
Rack the liquid.
Bottle the finished brandy.
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 + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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 cherries
- Provide the main fruit flavour and colour, and juice for the brandy.
- Brandy
- Acts as the solvent that draws flavour and aroma out of the cherries and stones.
- Lump sugar
- Adds sweetness and a rounder, smoother body to the finished liquor.
- Raspberries
- Optional; adds extra fruity aroma and a touch of brightness.
The step that matters
Wait until the liquid has cooled. Alcohol evaporates readily when hot, so mixing the brandy-based liquid while it is still hot would lose aroma and strength. Letting it cool first keeps the brandy's character intact.
“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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