Name: Tincture of Cinnamon
Ingredients: 1 bottle of genuine Cognac; 3 ounces bruised cinnamon; 1 teaspoon sugar; 1 egg yolk; 1 glass of good Sherry or Madeira

Why it works: Cinnamon and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Tincture of Cinnamon

Ingredients

Directions

Make the tincture

Pour the cognac over the bruised cinnamon and let it steep.

Combine and serve

In a glass, combine a teaspoon of the tincture with a lump of sugar.
Add the egg yolk and mix well.
Pour in the sherry or Madeira and stir to combine.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together30,779 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Cinnamon + sherrytop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together649 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar + sherrytop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,141 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Cinnamon + eggtop 28% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together19,058 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

Cinnamon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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

Cognac: Extracts the aromatic flavour from the cinnamon and acts as the base of the tincture.
Bruised cinnamon: Supplies the main aroma and flavour as it steeps in the cognac.
Egg yolk: Adds richness and body, giving the drink a smoother, creamier texture.
Sherry or madeira: Adds fortified wine sweetness and depth to the finished drink.

“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.