Why it works: Peach and apricot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 342 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Ratafia
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the kernels
Blanch the peach and apricot kernels, then bruise them.
Steep
Place the bruised kernels into a bottle and fill it nearly to the top with brandy.
After the mixture has stood for a month, strain off the kernels.
Sweeten and bottle
Dissolve the sugar-candy in cold water and add it to the brandy.
Filter the mixture through paper and bottle it for use.
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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Peach + apricottop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together342 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Apricot + brandytop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together513 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Peach + brandytop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together339 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Peach + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,308 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Apricot + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,630 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Peach kernels
- Provide the characteristic nutty, almond-like aroma and flavour as they steep in the brandy.
- Apricot kernels
- Add further nutty, almond-like aroma and flavour to the steeped spirit.
- Brandy
- Acts as the solvent that extracts flavour from the bruised kernels and forms the base of the liqueur.
- White sugar-candy
- Adds sweetness and body, balancing the bitterness and strength of the brandy.
The step that matters
Blanch and bruise the kernels. Blanching loosens the skins so they peel cleanly, and bruising breaks the cell walls so the flavour compounds can leach into the brandy during steeping.
Swap the peach
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apricot, brandy, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Peachthe original
- Figfits about as well
- Plumfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against apricot, brandy, sugar. 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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