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 Lozenges
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the gum
Soak the gumdragon in tepid water for six hours.
Squeeze and wring the soaked gumdragon through a cloth.
Make the paste
On a clean marble slab, work the prepared gum with your fist until it is white and elastic.
Gradually mix in the icing sugar, adding the peppermint essence when the paste is smooth and elastic.
If desired, add a few drops of cobalt blue for color while working the paste.
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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Sugar + pepperminttop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked 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
- Gumdragon
- Forms the elastic, pliable base that holds the lozenge paste together.
- Icing sugar
- Stiffens the gum into a workable paste and provides the sweetness.
The step that matters
Working the paste until white and elastic. Gum needs thorough kneading after soaking so the paste becomes smooth and elastic. If it is under-worked, it stays sticky or crumbly and the icing sugar cannot be absorbed evenly.
“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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