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Dessert

Brandy Cherries

Cherries preserved in syrup, then infused with brandy and cloves.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Brandy and clove are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,362 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Brandy Cherries

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the cherries

  1. Remove stems and stones from the cherries, break the stones, and return the kernels to the cherries.

Make the syrup

  1. Add the sugar and boil until it reaches a syrup consistency.

  2. Transfer the mixture to a large jar and let it cool.

Steep and age

  1. Mix in the brandy and cloves, then seal the jar tightly to keep out air.

  2. Prick each cherry with a needle and add them to the jar.

  3. Ensure the cherries are fully covered with syrup; add more brandy if necessary.

  4. Seal the jar again and let it sit for about a month before eating.

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. Brandy + clovetop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,362 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together11,939 recipes

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

  3. Sugar + clovetop 26% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together17,182 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

Sugar and brandy barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 11,939 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

Cherries
Supply the fruit that soaks up the syrup and brandy and becomes the finished preserve.
Sugar
Sweetens the fruit and thickens the liquid into a syrup that helps preserve it.
Brandy
Adds alcohol that helps preserve the fruit and carries flavor into it.
Cloves
Add warm, spicy aroma to the soaking liquid.

The step that matters

Keep every cherry submerged in syrup. Sugar and alcohol preserve the fruit only where they fully cover it. Cherries left exposed to air can ferment or grow mold, so topping up with brandy matters.

Swap the clove

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, brandy):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Nutmegfits better
  3. Gingerfits about as well
  4. Clovethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, brandy. 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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