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 ↓
Modern Cookery
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice
Drain the liquid from the strawberries for 2 to 4 days.
Strain the liquid through a linen or flannel bag and weigh it.
Mix the strained liquid with an equal quantity of sugar until nearly dissolved.
Make the syrup
Stir the syrup over a clear fire and boil for 5 minutes, skimming thoroughly.
Pour the syrup into a clean stone pitcher or large china jugs.
Cover with a thick cloth and let it sit overnight.
Bottle and store
Bottle the syrup in pint or half-pint bottles, corking lightly.
After 4 to 5 days, cork tightly and store in a cool, dry place.
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
- Strawberries
- Provide the main fruit flavour and the juice that becomes the syrup.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the flavour and balances the sweetness.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and body, and its high concentration helps the syrup keep.
The step that matters
Boil for 5 minutes and skim thoroughly. Boiling thickens the syrup and drives off some water, while skimming removes foam and scum that could ferment or spoil it during storage.
“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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