Why it works: Molasses and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Molasses Candy
Ingredients
Directions
Make the candy
Combine molasses and white sugar in a saucepan.
Boil until thick and difficult to stir.
Quickly stir in baking soda until the mixture becomes light and frothy.
Pour and cool
Pour the mixture onto a buttered dish.
Let it cool for a few minutes in a cool place.
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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Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Molasses + buttertop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,123 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
- Molasses
- Provides the main body, dark color, and rich flavor, and its acidity reacts with the baking soda.
- White sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the mixture thicken as it boils.
- Baking soda
- Releases gas when it reacts with the acidic molasses, creating a light, foamy structure.
The step that matters
Quickly stir in baking soda. Baking soda reacts with the acid in molasses almost immediately, releasing gas that foams the mixture. If stirring is slow, the gas escapes before the candy sets, leaving it dense instead of light and frothy.
“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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