Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Blackberry Cordial
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fruit
Select coarse-grain, well-ripened blackberries.
In a porcelain kettle, boil the 3 pints of water with the blackberries until soft.
Strain out the seeds and pulp.
Add the spices
To the liquid, add the 3 lbs of lump sugar, 3 sticks of cinnamon, 24 cloves, and 1 large tablespoon of allspice.
Boil for 10 minutes.
Finish the cordial
When cold, strain out the spices and stir in 1 quart of old whiskey.
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.
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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,536 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + allspicetop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,938 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Blackberries
- Provide the main fruit flavour and colour as their juice cooks down into the liquid.
- Lump sugar
- Adds sweetness and body, balancing the tartness of the blackberries.
- Old whiskey
- Adds alcohol, which carries aroma and helps preserve the finished cordial.
- Cinnamon
- Adds warm, sweet aroma that infuses into the liquid during boiling.
- Cloves
- Add a strong, pungent aroma that infuses into the liquid during boiling.
- Allspice
- Adds a warm, peppery aroma that complements the cinnamon and cloves.
The step that matters
Strain out the spices and add the whiskey only when cold. Alcohol evaporates and its aroma fades when heated, so adding the whiskey to hot liquid would weaken the flavour. Cooling first keeps it in the cordial.
Swap the allspice
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, cinnamon, clove):
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Allspicethe original
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, cinnamon, clove. 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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