Why it works: Peach and brandy work together. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 339 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Brandy Peaches
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the peaches
Wipe the peaches with a flannel and prick each one to the stone with a large pin.
Place the peaches in a pan and scald them with boiling water, cover and let them rest for a few minutes.
Repeat the scalding process two or three times.
Drain and dry the peaches.
Make the syrup and soak
In a preserving kettle, melt the sugar with ½ cup of water and ½ egg white, boiling and skimming until clear.
Add the peaches to the syrup and boil briefly.
Remove from heat and let sit in the syrup overnight.
Heat the syrup and add the peaches, then boil briefly again.
Remove and let cool.
Reduce and jar
Boil the syrup down to half its original quantity without letting it congeal.
Place the peaches in a glass jar and pour the syrup over them.
Fill the jar with brandy and cover tightly.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Peach + brandytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together339 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Egg + brandytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,340 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
-
Peach + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,308 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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
- Peaches
- Provide the fruit, which softens and turns tender and juicy during repeated scalding and syrup soaking.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and, as a thick syrup, preserves it and gives it body.
- Egg white
- Binds impurities so they can be skimmed off, clarifying the syrup to a clear finish.
- Brandy
- Adds aroma and flavour and helps preserve the peaches in the jar.
The step that matters
Boil the syrup down without letting it congeal. Sugar syrup that is cooked too far thickens and crystallises as it cools. Reducing only to half keeps it fluid enough to coat the peaches and stay smooth in the jar.
Swap the peach
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, brandy):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Apricotfits better
- Peachthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, 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.
You might also like
Peach Ice Cream64 recipes
Peach Fritters55 recipes
Peach Meringue40 recipes
Brandy Cream21 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.