Why it works: Raisin and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 12,481 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Raisin Wine with Sugar
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the must
Combine the raisins and soft water in a large tub, stirring frequently and covering with a sack or blanket.
After about two weeks, when the raisins are still, press the fruit and strain the liquid.
Ferment in the cask
In a dry, warm wine cask, add the strained liquid and the sugar, stirring well when half full.
Add the thick yeast and fill the cask with the remaining liquid, continuing to do so while fermentation lasts, which may take a month or more.
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 + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 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
- Raisins
- Provide the fruit sugars and flavour that the fermentation turns into wine.
- Lisbon sugar
- Adds extra sugar for the yeast to convert into alcohol, raising strength and body.
- Thick yeast
- Converts the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide, driving the fermentation.
The step that matters
Keeping the cask filled during fermentation. Topping up the cask with liquid limits contact with air, which can let spoilage microbes grow and turn the wine sour. Fermentation is slow, so the cask must stay full until it finishes.
“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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