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Peppermint Drops

A peppermint‑flavored candy made by dissolving isinglass and gum arabic in boiling water, mixing with sugar, and drying.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Sugar and peppermint are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 29% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,082 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Peppermint Drops

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the gum solution

  1. Dissolve isinglass and gum arabic in boiling water.

  2. Let the mixture stand for 2 hours.

Make and dry the drops

  1. Grate the loaf sugar and sift it through a fine sieve.

  2. Add the oil of peppermint to the sugar mixture and beat well together.

  3. Drop the mixture onto paper.

  4. Dry the drops at a stove or in a warm room for several days.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Sugar + pepperminttop 29% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,082 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

Isinglass
Gives the mixture a gel-like body that helps the drops set firm and chewy.
Gum arabic
Acts as a binder that helps the drops hold their shape and keep a smooth texture.
Loaf sugar
Forms the bulk of the drops and sets into a crisp, sweet solid as it dries.
Oil of peppermint
Provides the aroma and flavor that defines the drops.

The step that matters

Dry the drops at a stove or in a warm room for several days. Slow, gentle drying lets the sugar and gum set into firm drops. Too much heat can cause the outside to harden unevenly, while damp air keeps the drops sticky.

“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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