Sack

Through the 18th century, any of a number of fortified wines imported from Spain or the Canary Islands. There is disagreement whether the sack called for in historical recipes was understood to be amber or clear, or dry or sweet, or any sack or one particular sack, possibly specifically “Sherris sack,” or sack from the environs of Jerez, a town in Spain, which the English came to call “Sherry.” Since Sherry is virtually the only sack-type wine now easily available in the United States, it is generally substituted for sack in adapting historical recipes. In most cakes the particular kind of Sherry used makes little difference. In puddings it makes somewhat more and in dessert sauces considerably more, and in these a dry, sharp Sherry is likely more authentic than a sweeter one.