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Drink

Saratoga Punch

A chilled fruit punch made with champagne, cognac, oranges, and pineapple.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Orange and pineapple are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,664 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓

Saratoga Punch

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Slice the oranges and pineapple in a bowl.

Steep and serve

  1. Pour the Cognac over the fruit and let steep for 2 hours.

  2. Add the Champagne and serve immediately.

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.

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. Orange + pineappletop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,664 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  2. Champagne + pineappletop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together97 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  3. Champagne + orangetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together260 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Champagne
Adds sparkle and a light, crisp body to the punch.
Cognac
Brings strong spirit flavor that infuses into the fruit during steeping.
Oranges
Contribute juice, sweetness and acidity as they steep in the Cognac.
Pineapple
Adds juice, sweetness and tropical fruit flavor to the punch.

The step that matters

Adding the Champagne last. Champagne loses its carbonation quickly once mixed and left standing. Adding it just before serving keeps the punch fizzy and lively.

Swap the orange

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (champagne, pineapple):

  1. Strawberryfits better
  2. Melonfits better
  3. Bananafits better
  4. Orangethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against champagne, pineapple. 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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