Why it works: Syrup and sugar match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,842 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Vanilla Syrup Candy
Ingredients
Directions
Make the candy
In a pot, combine syrup, granulated sugar, butter, and glycerine.
Boil the mixture like molasses candy.
Test the candy by dropping a small amount into cold water.
When nearly done, add baking soda and stir well.
Pour and finish
Pour the mixture into buttered pans.
While cooling, add your desired flavoring on top of the candy.
Pull the candy as you would for molasses candy.
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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Syrup + sugartop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,842 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Syrup + buttertop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,796 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Syrup
- Provides the sugar base that the candy is cooked and set from.
- Granulated sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the candy harden as it cools.
- Baking soda
- Creates bubbles that lighten the candy's texture as it nears the end of cooking.
- Glycerine
- Helps keep the candy soft and prevents it from becoming overly brittle.
The step that matters
Add the baking soda near the end. Baking soda reacts quickly with the hot sugar mixture, so adding it when nearly done and stirring well lightens the texture. Adding it too early lets the gas escape before the candy sets.
“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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