Why it works: Raisin and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,768 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Raisin Wine Without Cider
Ingredients
Directions
Ferment the raisins
Pour the spring water over the raisins and stir well daily for 14 days.
Squeeze the raisins in a horse-hair bag using a press and collect the liquid.
When the liquid stops hissing, seal it tightly.
Age and bottle
After 6 months, transfer the wine to another cask or tub, leaving sediment behind.
Add the gallon of brandy, seal it tightly, and bottle after another 6 months.
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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Raisin + brandytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,768 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
- Malagas raisins
- Supply the sugars and fruit flavor that fermentation turns into wine.
- Spring water
- Forms the liquid base that dissolves the raisin sugars and carries fermentation.
- Brandy
- Raises the alcohol content and helps preserve the wine during aging.
The step that matters
Sealing when the liquid stops hissing. Hissing means fermentation is still releasing carbon dioxide. Sealing too early can trap gas and build pressure, so wait until the bubbling has fully stopped.
“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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