Why it works: Sugar and cinnamon 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 ↓
Common Syrup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Combine sugar, water, brandy, and cinnamon in a saucepan.
Heat over low fire and boil gently for 10 minutes, skimming off any foam.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Bottle and store
Bottle and cork the syrup, storing it in a cool, dry place.
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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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Brandy + cinnamontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,199 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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
- Loaf sugar
- Dissolves into the water to form the syrup and provides its sweetness and body.
- Brandy
- Adds its alcoholic aroma and flavor to the syrup.
- Cinnamon
- Adds a warm, aromatic spice note to the syrup.
The step that matters
Boil gently and skim the foam. Gentle heat keeps the syrup from over-reducing or scorching, while skimming removes foam formed by impurities rising to the surface, leaving a clearer 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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