Why it works: Raisin and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,768 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Raisin Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Make the must
In a large tub, combine spring water and raisins.
Stir thoroughly every day for a month.
Press the raisins as dry as possible.
Transfer the liquid into a cask.
Ferment and age
Once it stops hissing, add the bottle of brandy.
Seal the cask tightly and let it sit for twelve months.
After a year, rack off the wine without the dregs.
Filter the dregs through a flannel bag.
Combine the clear wine with the filtered liquid and add 1-2 quarts of brandy based on vessel size.
Seal the cask again and let it age for three years before bottling or drinking.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Raisin + brandytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,768 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
- Smyrna raisins
- Provide sugar and fruit flavor that ferments into the wine's alcohol and body.
- Spring water
- Dilutes the raisin sugars and forms the liquid base where fermentation occurs.
- Brandy
- Raises the alcohol content, stabilizing the wine and preserving it during long aging.
The step that matters
Add the brandy after the hissing stops. Brandy added while fermentation is still active can halt yeast early, leaving the wine sweeter and less fully developed. Waiting until the bubbling ends lets fermentation finish first.
“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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