Why it works: Spirit and wine work together. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 701 recipes. Both carry isoamyl acetate, which smells banana, fruity. The science ↓
Sugar Candy
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the mould
Prepare a conical copper or tin mould, ensuring it is dry and covered with double paper to prevent leaks.
Make the syrup
Heat a pan of clarified sugar syrup over medium heat until it reaches the small feather stage.
Skim the syrup well, then remove from heat and stir in a small amount of spirits of wine.
Allow the syrup to rest until a small skin forms on the surface.
Use a skimmer to remove the skin and pour the syrup into the mould.
Set and drain
Place the mould in a 350°F (175°C) oven and maintain the temperature for eight days.
After eight days, drain the candy by making a hole in the mould and tilting it over a basin or pan.
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.
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Spirit + winetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together701 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
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Sugar + spirittop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together602 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + winetop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together9,581 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Clarified sugar
- Forms the glassy body of the candy and provides its sweetness.
The step that matters
Skimming and removing the skin. Skimming well and lifting off the skin before pouring removes impurities that would otherwise cloud or mar the finished candy. Cooking the syrup only to the feather stage keeps it at the right concentration to set firm rather than 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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