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 ↓
Raisin Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Steep the raisins
Combine 1 gallon of water with 6 pounds of sun raisins in a tub and let sit for 12 days, stirring frequently.
Press the raisins to extract as much liquid as possible.
Cask and rest
Transfer the liquid into a properly sized cask.
If using sugar-candy, dissolve 5 pounds of sugar-candy in the liquid before transferring it to the barrel.
Allow the wine to stand longer before consumption if sugar-candy was added.
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.
-
Raisin + brandytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,768 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Brandy + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Brandy and sugar 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
- Sun raisins
- Supply the sugar and fruit flavor that make up the body of the wine.
- Brandy
- Raises the alcohol content and helps preserve the finished wine.
- Sugar-candy
- Adds sweetness and extra sugar to the liquid when used.
The step that matters
Dissolve the sugar-candy fully before transferring. Undissolved sugar settles to the bottom of the cask and ferments unevenly, so the wine can taste inconsistent. Stirring until the sugar has fully dissolved gives an even sweetness throughout.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (brandy, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Apricotfits about as well
- Raisinthe original
- Figfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against brandy, sugar. 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.
More raisin wine recipes
You might also like
Vegetable Soup350 recipes
Raspberry Vinegar214 recipes
Brown Coffee with Egg175 recipes
Blackberry Cordial129 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.