Name: Cherries in Brandy
Ingredients: fine morella cherries; 1 stick of cinnamon; 12 cloves; ¼ pound brown sugar-candy; 1 quart brown brandy

Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Cherries in Brandy

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Cut the stalks off the cherries.
Place the cherries in a glass jar, filling it three-quarters full.

Add the flavourings and brandy

Add the cinnamon, cloves, and powdered sugar-candy.
Pour in the brown brandy to fill the jar.
Seal the jar tightly.

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.

Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together30,779 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Cinnamon + brandytop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,199 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Clove + brandytop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,362 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together11,939 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

Fine morella cherries: Provide the main fruit flavour and tart juice that mingles with the brandy.
Brown sugar-candy: Adds sweetness and body to the brandy as it dissolves over time.
Brown brandy: Acts as the preserving liquid, extracting flavour from the fruit and spices.
Cinnamon: Contributes warm, aromatic spice flavour to the infused liquid.
Cloves: Contribute pungent, aromatic spice flavour to the infused liquid.