Why it works: Sugar and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,939 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Currant Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Combine cold water and sugar in a large container and stir well.
Let the mixture stand for 24 hours.
Skim off any foam that forms on the surface.
Place the container in a cool location and allow it to ferment slowly for 3 to 4 days.
If fermentation has stopped, add 1 quart of brandy for every 15 gallons of the mixture.
Seal the container tightly and wait for the wine to settle and become clear.
Bottle the wine and let it age for 6 months 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
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 + brandytop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Sugar and brandy 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
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