Why it works: Sugar and peanut are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 27% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,545 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Peanut Candy
Ingredients
Directions
In a large pot, combine sugar and glucose.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Once boiling, add the peanuts and stir well until they turn yellow.
Pour the mixture onto a marble surface to cool.
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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Sugar + peanuttop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,545 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
- Sugar
- Forms the sweet, crystalline base that sets as the candy cools.
- Glucose
- Slows crystallisation so the candy stays smoother and less grainy.
- Peanuts
- Provide the main flavour and texture, toasting slightly as they stir in the syrup.
The step that matters
Stirring the peanuts into the boiling syrup. Stir steadily once the peanuts go in so they coat evenly and do not scorch on the bottom of the pot. Sugar syrup darkens quickly when it overheats, so the peanuts must not sit still in hot spots.
“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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