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 ↓
Port Wine Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the port wine, isinglass, cinnamon, sugar, and cloves in a small bottle.
Place the bottle in a kettle of water, bring to a boil, shaking it frequently.
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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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Port wine + clovetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together914 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Port wine + cinnamontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together241 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Port wine + sugartop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together805 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Cinnamon and sugar 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
- Port wine
- Provides the main liquid and a rich, fruity flavour that the jelly is built around.
- Isinglass
- A gelling agent that sets the liquid into a jelly as it cools.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the wine's strong, tart flavour.
- Cinnamon
- Adds warm, spicy aroma and flavour.
- Cloves
- Adds a pungent, warm spice aroma and flavour.
The step that matters
Shaking the bottle while it heats. Isinglass must dissolve fully into the warm wine to set evenly. Frequent shaking spreads the heat and keeps the gelling agent from clumping or settling and sticking to the bottom before it dissolves.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (port wine, cinnamon, sugar):
- Nutmegfits about as well
- Clovethe original
- Allspicefits less well
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against port wine, cinnamon, sugar. 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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