Why it works: Cider and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,431 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓
Raspberry Shrub
Ingredients
Directions
Macerate the fruit
Place raspberries in a stone crock.
Add enough cider vinegar to cover the raspberries.
Let stand overnight.
Make the shrub
Squeeze the mixture as for jelly.
Add 2 cups of sugar to each cup of juice.
Boil for 10 minutes, skimming if necessary.
Seal in glass jars.
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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Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,431 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Cider + sugartop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,308 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Red raspberries
- Provide the fruit flavour and colour that define the shrub.
- Cider vinegar
- Extracts flavour from the fruit and gives the shrub its sharp acidity.
- Granulated cane sugar
- Balances the vinegar's acidity and helps preserve the syrup.
The step that matters
Boil for 10 minutes, skimming if necessary. Boiling dissolves the sugar fully into the juice and vinegar mixture and helps stabilise it for storage. Skimming removes foam and any loose fruit particles that could spoil or cloud the syrup.
“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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