Why it works: Vinegar and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,806 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Raspberry Shrub
Ingredients
Directions
Make the shrub
Combine raspberries and vinegar in a container and let sit for 24 hours.
Strain the mixture to extract the juice.
Add 1 pound of sugar for each pint of juice.
Boil the mixture for 30 minutes, skimming off any foam.
Bottle
Bottle the raspberry shrub.
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.
-
Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Raspberries
- Provide the main fruit flavor and the juice that forms the base of the shrub.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the fruit flavor and helps preserve the mixture.
- White sugar
- Balances the acidity and sweetness, and helps preserve the shrub.
The step that matters
Boil the mixture for 30 minutes, skimming off any foam. Boiling dissolves the sugar fully and drives off foam that would otherwise cloud the syrup or spoil it. Skimming keeps the shrub clear and stable for bottling.
“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.
More raspberry shrub recipes
You might also like
Raspberry Vinegar214 recipes
Sugar Vinegar20 recipes
Vegetable Soup350 recipes
Brown Coffee with Egg175 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.