Why it works: Sugar and white wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 30% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,586 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
White Wine Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Melt the isinglass in a little water.
Add the sugar and stir until dissolved.
Pour in the white wine and Madeira.
Boil the mixture and strain it through muslin into a mold.
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.
-
Sugar + white winetop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,586 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Isinglass
- Sets the liquid into a firm jelly as it cools.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps give the jelly its body.
- White wine
- Provides the main liquid and the wine flavour of the jelly.
- Madeira
- Adds a richer, fortified wine flavour to the jelly.
The step that matters
Straining through muslin. Isinglass can leave cloudiness and particles in the liquid. Straining through muslin after boiling removes them, so the set jelly looks clear.
“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.
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.