Kummel Cordial
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Pour boiling water over the sugar in a china-lined kettle.
Stir over heat until dissolved.
Bring to a boil and let it boil for 20 minutes.
Set aside to cool and then strain.
Flavor and store
When lukewarm, add the alcohol and Kummel oil, then stir to mix thoroughly.
Bottle and store for at least 1 month before using.
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
What each ingredient does
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the cordial and, dissolved into syrup, gives it body.
- Alcohol
- Carries the flavor and helps preserve the finished cordial.
- Kummel oil
- Provides the caraway-like aroma and flavor that defines the cordial.
The step that matters
Adding the alcohol when lukewarm. Alcohol evaporates readily from hot liquid, so adding it to a hot syrup loses strength and aroma. Cooling first keeps the alcohol and the volatile Kummel oil aroma in the finished cordial.
“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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