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Raspberry Vinegar. No. 2

A fermented raspberry vinegar made with sugar and brandy.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Cider and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,431 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓

Raspberry Vinegar. No. 2

Ingredients

Directions

Make the base

  1. Combine the mashed raspberries, cider vinegar, and sugar in a bowl.

  2. Mix well and let it sit in the sun for 4 hours.

  3. Strain the mixture and squeeze out the juice.

Bottle and store

  1. Add the brandy and seal in airtight bottles.

  2. Store the bottles on their sides in a cool cellar, covered with sawdust.

Serve

  1. To serve, pour 2 tablespoons into a glass of ice water.

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. Cider + vinegartop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,431 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

  2. Cider + brandytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together404 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

  3. Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,806 recipes

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

  4. Vinegar + brandytop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together344 recipes

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

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

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

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

Raspberries
Provide the main fruit flavor and color, and some pulp in the base.
Cider vinegar
Adds acidity that gives the syrup its sharp, tangy character and helps preserve it.
Sugar
Balances the sharpness of the vinegar and draws juice out of the fruit.
Brandy
Adds alcohol that helps keep the finished vinegar stable in storage.

The step that matters

Letting the mixture sit in the sun for 4 hours. Sugar draws juice out of the raspberries and the vinegar begins to extract their flavor and color. Sealing or straining too early leaves the fruit under-flavored and the mixture less stable.

“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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