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Blackberry Cordial

A homemade blackberry cordial made by boiling blackberry juice with sugar and cloves, then adding brandy.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Blackberry Cordial

Why it works: Blackberry and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 212 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Blackberry Cordial

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. In a large pot, combine the blackberry juice and sugar.

  2. Bring the mixture to a boil.

Simmer and finish

  1. Add the cloves tied in cloth and boil for 30 minutes, skimming off any foam.

  2. After boiling, stir in the brandy.

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.

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.

  1. Blackberry + clovetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together212 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Blackberry + brandytop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together146 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Clove + brandytop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,362 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  4. Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together11,939 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Blackberry + sugartop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,033 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

Blackberry juice
Provides the main fruit flavour and deep colour.
Sugar
Sweetens the cordial and gives it body.
Cloves
Infuse a warm, spicy aroma into the liquid.
Brandy
Adds alcohol that helps preserve the cordial and contributes aroma.

The step that matters

Stir in the brandy after boiling. Alcohol evaporates when heated, so adding the brandy only after boiling keeps its strength and aroma in the finished cordial.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (blackberry, sugar, brandy):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Clovethe original
  3. Gingerfits about as well
  4. Nutmegfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against blackberry, 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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