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 ↓
English White Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the sugar in water for 20 minutes, skimming off the scum.
Transfer the mixture to a tub and let it cool.
Once nearly cold, add the chopped raisins.
When completely cool, add the strong ale.
Let it stand for 3 days, stirring well each day.
Put the mixture into a cask with brandy, sugar candy, and isinglass.
Bottle it in 8 to 12 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).
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Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked 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
- Lisbon sugar
- Provides the sugar that yeast ferments into alcohol, giving the wine its body and strength.
- Malaga raisins
- Add fruit sugars and flavor, and contribute nutrients that support fermentation.
- Strong ale
- Adds yeast to start fermentation and contributes malty flavor.
- Brandy
- Raises the alcohol content and helps preserve the finished wine.
- Isinglass
- Acts as a fining agent that helps clear the wine by settling out suspended particles.
The step that matters
Adding the raisins and ale only when the liquid is cool. Yeast is killed by high heat, so adding the ale while the mixture is still hot can stop fermentation before it starts. Waiting until it is nearly or completely cool protects the yeast.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, brandy):
- Vanillafits better
- Apricotfits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, brandy. 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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