Why it works: Sugar and peanut are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 27% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,545 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Peanut Candy
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Chop the peanuts or roll them with a rolling pin.
Make the candy
Warm the sugar in a pan in the oven at 350°F (175°C).
Transfer the melted sugar to a heated French pan.
Remove from heat and mix in the peanuts thoroughly.
Spread the mixture in a tin and press into shape with knives.
Cut into bars once the candy hardens.
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.
-
Sugar + peanuttop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,545 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Granulated sugar
- Melts and then hardens into a crisp, brittle candy that provides the sweetness and structure.
- Rolled peanuts
- Add crunch, texture and a nutty flavour to the set candy.
The step that matters
Warm the sugar in the oven until melted. Sugar melts evenly at moderate heat, but if it overheats it can darken, taste bitter and burn. Once it cools it sets quickly, so it must be handled while still fluid.
“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.
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 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.