Why it works: Clove and cinnamon 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 ↓
Cherry Brandy
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the infusion
Press out the juice from cherries and mix with brandy in a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio, depending on juice quality.
Add 2-3 pounds of brown sugar, cloves, and cinnamon to the mixture.
Infuse and draw off
Let the mixture infuse for 16-18 days, then draw off the liquid as needed.
Refill the vessel with brandy and let it stand for about a month before drawing off again.
For a third infusion, cover the cherries with overproof brandy and let it infuse for 6-7 weeks.
When drawing off, add water equal to the amount of overproof brandy used and press the cherries to extract remaining liquid.
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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Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Cherry + cinnamontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together551 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Cherry + clovetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together474 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sugar and cinnamon 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
- Cherry juice
- Provides the cherry flavour and most of the liquid base for the brandy.
- Brandy
- Acts as the solvent and preservative, extracting flavour from the cherries and keeping the mixture stable.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and a molasses-like depth that rounds out the cherry flavour.
- Cloves
- Contribute warm, aromatic spice notes that infuse into the liquid.
- Cinnamon
- Adds warm, sweet spice aroma that complements the cherry flavour.
The step that matters
Adding water when drawing off. Water must be added in the same amount as the overproof brandy used, so the final spirit stays at a balanced strength and flavour. Pressing the cherries then extracts the remaining liquid, which keeps the yield consistent between batches.
Swap the cherry
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (brandy, sugar, clove, cinnamon, molasses):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Cherrythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against brandy, sugar, clove, cinnamon, molasses. 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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