Why it works: Vinegar and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,806 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Raspberry Syrup
Ingredients
Directions
Strain and boil
Drain the vinegar from the raspberries and strain it through a jelly bag or thick linen cloth.
Boil the strained vinegar gently for 4-5 minutes with an equal weight of sugar, removing any scum that rises.
Bottle the syrup
Bottle the syrup the next day, following the directions for strawberry vinegar.
If fruit is scarce, you can change the raspberries twice and leave them in the vinegar for a few extra days.
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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Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 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
- Raspberries
- Provide the main flavour and colour as they steep into the vinegar.
- Vinegar
- Adds sharp acidity that balances the sweetness and helps preserve the syrup.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness, balances the vinegar's sharpness, and gives the syrup body.
The step that matters
Gentle boil with skimming. Boiling gently for 4-5 minutes keeps the fresh raspberry flavour from turning dull or cooked, and skimming off scum keeps the syrup clear.
“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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