Why it works: Cinnamon and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Stewed Blackberries
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare and cook
Wash the blackberries.
In a pot, combine blackberries, boiling water, and cinnamon stick.
Simmer slowly and add sugar to taste.
When nearly done, thicken with a little cornstarch.
Serve
Cool and serve with milk, rice, custard, or pancakes.
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 + sugartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 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
- Blackberries
- Provide the main fruit flavor and body of the stewed sauce.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the tartness of the blackberries.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the cooking liquid into a smooth, spoonable sauce.
The step that matters
Thicken with cornstarch near the end. Cornstarch thickens only when heated with liquid and then cooled, so adding it too early or too late gives a thin or lumpy result. Stir it into a little liquid first so it disperses evenly.
“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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