What Is Brandy and How Can I Use It?

Brandy is easier to cook with than it looks. Here's how to choose, use, and store it, what to substitute, and 416 recipes to get you started.

Key Points

Brandy is oak-aged grape spirit, richer than wine in a sauce but without wine's acidity.
Deglaze a hot pan with a splash after searing meat, then simmer to mellow the raw edge.
Flambé safely: measure brandy into a cup, add off the heat, never pour from the bottle.
Cognac is just brandy from one French region; it swaps in fine, usually finer.
An opened bottle keeps for years; 40 percent alcohol preserves itself with no fridge.

What is brandy?

Brandy is a spirit distilled from wine and usually aged in oak, which gives it a warm, fruity, lightly sweet character at around 40 percent alcohol. In the kitchen it sits between wine and hard liquor: more concentrated and richer than wine, but without wine's sharp acidity.

That makes it a quiet workhorse in both savory and sweet cooking, from one bottle in the cupboard. It deglazes a pan and deepens a cream sauce. It also flames a dessert and steeps fruit for months.

brandy

Cooking With Brandy

The everyday use is deglazing. After searing chicken or a pork chop, pour a splash of brandy into the hot pan and scrape up the browned bits. Let it reduce into a glossy sauce base with concentrated grape flavor and a hint of oak.

That is exactly the move behind Brandy Chops De Pere and the cream pan sauce in Easy Beef Stroganoff For Two.

How much alcohol stays behind is a dial you control. A patient simmer cooks most of it off, a quick flame burns away some, and a spoonful stirred in off the heat keeps nearly all of it, along with its raw bite.

That raw edge is the thing to manage. Give brandy at least a minute or two at a simmer in any savory sauce so the harsh alcohol note mellows into round, fruity warmth.

Brandy also earns its place in holiday baking. It soaks the dried fruit in a Dark Christmas Cake and a Harrod's Christmas Pudding, and warms the dough of Classic Koulourakia (Greek Easter Cookies).

Flambé Safely

Flambé is the showy trick of igniting the brandy to burn off alcohol and toast its surface sugars. Done carelessly it is the most dangerous thing brandy does.

The failure mode is a flare-up that climbs the pour. Never tip the bottle straight into a lit pan, because the flame can run up the stream and ignite the bottle in your hand.

Measure the brandy into a separate cup first instead. Pull the pan off the heat, add it, then light it with a long match held at the pan's edge.

Before you light anything, turn off any overhead vent fan and keep the pan clear of cabinets and well away from your face and sleeves. Warming the brandy slightly helps it catch.

The flames die on their own within a minute. Keep a lid nearby to smother the pan if they climb higher than you like.

What It Pairs With

Brandy's grape backbone makes it flexible. On the savory side it loves poultry, pork, and rich game meat. It also flatters a cream sauce and the mushrooms or shrimp in a dish like Creamy Curried Shrimp.

On the sweet side, oak aging brings vanilla and caramel notes that suit apples, pears, cherries, and dried fruit. Add it late to a dessert when you want the boozy warmth to read clearly.

Where it goes wrong is with delicate flavors. Brandy overwhelms mild white fish like cod or sole, and it muddies a bright tomato sauce, where the fruit notes pile up and turn heavy.

Brandy vs Cognac

Cognac is brandy, just brandy made in the Cognac region of France under strict rules. Every cognac is a brandy, but only that region's spirit can use the name. If a recipe calls for brandy, cognac is always a fine, usually finer, substitute.

For most cooking you do not need a sipping-grade bottle.

A basic VS or VSOP brandy or cognac around 20 dollars works for everything from deglazing to dessert glazes, and an inexpensive bottle you use weekly beats a fancy one you hoard.

For savory swaps, dry sherry is closest, carrying a similar barrel-aged note that goes in one for one. In desserts, bourbon or dark rum cover for brandy nicely, trading grape for vanilla or molasses.

With no alcohol at all, a splash of grape or apple juice with a drop of vanilla gets you in the neighborhood.

Storing It

Brandy keeps almost indefinitely. A sealed bottle lasts for years in the pantry, and even an opened one stays good for a couple of years or more with the cap screwed tight, because the high alcohol content preserves itself.

Store it upright in a cool, dark spot away from heat and sunlight. There is no need to refrigerate it.

Its keeping power is exactly why brandy is used to preserve fruit outright, steeping peaches or cherries for months in a sealed jar.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 fl oz (27g)

Amount per Serving

Calories 62Calories from Fat 0

% Daily Value *

Total Fat 0.0g 0%

Saturated Fat 0.0g 0%

Trans Fat ~

Cholesterol 0mg 0%

Sodium 0mg 0%

Total Carbohydrate 0.0g 0%

Dietary Fiber 0g 0%

Sugars 0.0

Protein 0.0g

Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0%

Calcium 0% • Iron 0%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your caloric needs.

recipeland.com/nutrition

Quick facts

Where to find brandy: Brandy is usually found in the liquor section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

Food group: Brandy is a member of the Beverages US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese: 白兰地
British (UK) term: Brandy
en français: brandy
en español: brandy

How much does brandy weigh?

Amount	Weight
1 fl oz	27 grams
1 jigger 1.5 fl oz	42 grams

Beverages

Beer 431 Creme de menthe 43 Brandy 416 Rum 290 Vodka 132 Cognac 125 Tequila 80 Gin 28 Whiskey 80 Bourbon whiskey 86

Recipes using brandy

There are 416 recipes that contain this ingredient.

Hamburgers Au Poivre

Hamburgers au poivre transforms ground beef patties into bistro fare with a cracked pepper crust, cognac flambé, and red wine pan sauce. Steak au poivre on a weeknight budget.

Brandied Raspberry Sauce

Brandied raspberry sauce made with frozen raspberries, sugar, and cornstarch thickened with brandy. A quick dessert topping for cheesecake, ice cream, or pound cake.

Brandied Cranberries

Broiled until popped, then macerated in sugar and brandy. Works as a cranberry sauce with a bit of kick for meats and also as a topping for pancakes or waffles.

Strawberry Crepes

Strawberry crepes flambe fresh berries in a citrus-butter-brandy syrup, then fold them into delicate crepes glazed with the reduced sauce. Showy New Orleans-style dessert ready in 30 minutes.

Easy Chocolate Mousse

Easy chocolate mousse made with semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolate, brandy, and whipped cream beaten right into the eggs and sugar. Two methods: bowl for light, blender for dense.

Mom's Apple Brandy Cake

Old-fashioned tube cake packed with fresh apples, nuts, and raisins, then doused with brandy while still warm. Moist texture that improves overnight.

Cold Plum Soup

Silky cold plum soup with red wine, brandy, sour cream, and warm cinnamon, chilled until velvety smooth. A refreshing Eastern European fruit soup that works as an elegant starter or a light summer dessert.

Brandy Chops De Pere

Tasty, easy to prepare, brandy recipe for boneless pork chops. Best with 1" thick chops, a leafy spinach salad with walnuts, rasberry vinaigrette dressing with a dash of balsimic vinegar, and a glass of dark earthy Merlot. One of my favorite discoveries.

Cantaloupe Sorbet

Cantaloupe sorbet with honey-sweetened melon puree and brandied melon balls for garnish. A refreshing palate cleanser or summer dessert that captures peak melon flavor in a frozen scoop.

Merry Christmas Fruitcake

Traditional Christmas fruitcake with brandy-soaked candied citrus peel, citron, currants, and raisins, deeply spiced and aged in a tin with periodic brandy basting before the holidays.

Christmas Pudding With Vanilla-Bean Custard

This Christmas pudding has plenty of delicious fruit and nuts, but it's really simple to make - just plan ahead and then make the warm vanilla-bean custard on the day.

Christmas Pudding With Vanilla-Bean Custard

This Christmas pudding has plenty of delicious fruit and nuts, but it's really simple to make - just plan ahead and then make the warm vanilla-bean custard on the day.

My Vegetarian Mince Pies

Vegetarian mince pies with a suet-free, no-suet British mincemeat: dried fruits, ripe banana, almonds, brandy, and warm spice tucked inside flaky shortening pastry. The traditional Christmas pie, made meatless.

Caramelized Onion Jam

This is the epitome of sweet and savory goodness. Put it on burgers, steaks, chops, crackers, or old tennis shoes. Yes, it's that good.

Creole Christmas Cake

This very rich cake from the West Indies is ideal for those who prefer not to ice their Christmas cakes.

Brandy Christmas Fruit Cake

Get the jump on your Christmas baking by making this classic fruit cake now. Wrap it well and it will be perfect to serve, or give as a gift, on Christmas Day!

Chestnut Apple Soup

A delicious and light soup that we make all the time. It can be served warm, at room temperature or chilled. So it's perfect all year round. If you like chunkier soup, just simply reserve 1 cup or two soup before putting into the blender.

Creme Fraiche Pumpkin Pie

Give a classic pumpkin pie a modern twist with creme fraiche that makes the pie differently rich and delicious. Brandy is an enhancer and makes the pie taste even better with just enough tang.

White Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies

It is an excellent recipe! I didn't change a thing.

Ginger Pine Nut Biscotti

These homemade biscotti will impress everyone, it is good for a breakfast or snack, with a cup of coffee or tea.

Flourless Chocolate Torte with Ganache

This souffle like chocolate cake is so fluffy and full of chocolate flavor, with the creamy and chocolaty ganache frosting. Love chocolate? This is your cake!

Crock Pot Brandy Meatballs

This simple and easy-to-follow crockpot recipe will help you make this scrumptious appetizer that tastes wonderful with rice or noodles.

Gloria Moss Old Fashioned Pumpkin Pie

This is my favorite pumpkin pie recipe! I found it years ago, and recently lost it in a move. I was joyous to find it again! I encourage everyone to use fresh pumpkin, just cut into large chunks, steam, then scoop out of peel, easy!

Classic Christmas Cake

"This cake is a rich, dark, moist fruit cake, very flavorful at Christmas. Try icing with almond paste for a more festive touch. This recipe is started in October or November so as to let it mellow before the holidays. I remember very well my mother storing her fruit cake in an old butter churn that belonged to my grandmother and great grandmother. I wish that I had that old crock."

Mincemeat (Real Meat) #2

Traditional mincemeat with real beef and suet, the way it was made for centuries before the meatless version took over. Currants, raisins, apples, brandy, and warming spices simmer into a deeply flavored pie filling. Yields 80 servings.

Dark Christmas Cake

Dark Christmas cake is the real, old-fashioned fruitcake: dense with raisins, currants, figs, dates, and almonds, deepened with brown sugar, prune juice, and brandy, then aged in brandy-soaked cheesecloth. Make it now, slice it at Christmas.

Greek Easter Cookies

Greek Easter cookies (koulourakia) are buttery braided twists brushed with egg wash and sprinkled with sesame seeds, a traditional Orthodox Easter treat with a tender, not-too-sweet crumb.

Almond-Apricot Biscotti

The biscotti turned out delicious, by adding white chocolate really enhanced the depth of the flavor, and also gave the biscotti a softer and creamier texture, which also made these yummy biscotti highly additive. Almond and dried apricots added the rich nuttiness and sweet-sour juicy bites.