Why it works: Brandy and wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,427 recipes. Both carry gamma-nonanolactone, which smells coconut, sweet. The science ↓
To Make Raisin-Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the must
Boil 16 gallons of water and let it cool.
Combine the cooled water with 100 weight of raisins in a large tub.
Allow the mixture to ferment for 4 to 5 weeks, stirring once a day for the first two weeks, then twice a day.
When most raisins burst, press the liquid from the fruit as clear as possible and transfer it to a cask.
Age and fine
Leave the cask unstopped for 2 to 3 months, checking weekly for fermentation signs.
When fermentation slows, add 1 bottle of brandy and seal the cask tightly.
After 6 to 8 months, rack off the wine from the lees and fine it with isinglass.
To prepare isinglass, beat 1.5 ounces into small pieces and mix with 1 quart of wine, whisking several times a day until it forms a jelly.
As it thickens, add more wine as needed.
Whisk in the whites of 10 to 12 eggs and combine with the wine before bottling.
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 + winetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,427 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
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Raisin + brandytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,768 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Brandy + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,340 recipes
Shared aroma: acetoin (butter, cream).
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Raisin + eggtop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,556 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Raisin + winetop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,324 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
- Raisins
- Provide sugar and flavour for fermentation, and the fruit body that yields the wine.
- Brandy
- Raises the alcohol content and helps preserve the finished wine.
- Isinglass
- Gelatin-like fining agent that collects haze particles so the wine clears.
- Eggs
- Egg whites are used as a fining agent that helps clarify the wine.
The step that matters
Sealing the cask after fermentation slows. Sealing too early can trap gas and stop the fermentation cleanly, while leaving it open too long lets air spoil the wine. Timing the seal to when fermentation slows protects flavour and stability.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (brandy, wine, egg):
- Currantfits better
- Apricotfits better
- Grapefits better
- Raisinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against brandy, wine, egg. 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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