Why it works: Sugar and sherry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 22% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,141 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Wine Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Dissolve the gelatin in a little cold water.
Add the hot water and bring to a boil.
Stir in the sugar and sherry wine until well combined.
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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Sugar + sherrytop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,141 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + winetop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together9,581 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sherry + winetop 32% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together0 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gelatine
- Sets the liquid into a firm, wobbly jelly as it cools.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps give the jelly its body and clear texture.
- Sherry wine
- Adds the main flavour and a mild acidity to the jelly.
The step that matters
Dissolve the gelatin fully before setting. Gelatine must be fully dissolved in hot liquid to set evenly. Undissolved granules leave soft spots or grainy patches once the jelly cools.
“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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