Why it works: Brandy and apple are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,291 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Apple Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare the Frying Batter according to recipe No. 371.
Slice the apples about ¼ inch thick.
Soak the apple slices in a basin with brandy and powdered sugar for 1 hour.
Fry and serve
Dip the soaked apple slices into the batter.
Fry in lard until golden brown.
Drain the fritters and serve, dusting with powdered sugar before serving.
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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Brandy + appletop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,291 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + appletop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Brandy + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and apple barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 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
- Apples
- Provide the fruit that is coated in batter and fried until tender and golden.
- Brandy
- Adds aroma and flavour to the apple slices during the soak.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the apples during the soak and gives a light dusting on the finished fritters.
- Frying batter
- Coats the apple slices and crisps into a golden, crisp outer layer when fried.
The step that matters
Fry in lard until golden brown. Frying at a steady, hot temperature sets the batter quickly so it crisps without absorbing too much fat. If the lard is too cool, the fritters soak up grease and turn soggy, while if it is too hot the outside browns before the apple cooks through.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (brandy, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Apricotfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against brandy, sugar. 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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