Why it works: Sugar and fig are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,241 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Sanded Gum Figs
Ingredients
Directions
Make the gum base
In a large pot, combine 70 lbs of glucose, 30 lbs of sugar, and 3 gallons of water, then bring to a boil.
Dissolve 14 lbs of pearl starch in 7 gallons of water along with the tartaric acid and ground figs.
Add the starch mixture to the boiling glucose and sugar mixture.
Cook until the mixture drops in sheets from the paddle.
Dry and finish
Cast the mixture in dry hot starch and leave it in a dry room for 5 days to dry.
Once dry, cool the mixture and run it through a starch buck, then sand it in a revolving pan.
Pack in cases when completely dry.
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 + figtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,241 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
- Glucose
- Provides body and resists crystallisation, keeping the gum smooth and chewy rather than grainy.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps set the firm, glassy texture of the cooked mass.
- Pearl starch
- Forms the gel structure that gives the gum its body and firmness as it cooks and dries.
- Figs
- Contribute fruit flavour and aroma to the finished gum.
The step that matters
Cook until the mixture drops in sheets from the paddle. Cooking must reach the right concentration so the mass sets firm when cooled. Undercooked mixture stays sticky and will not dry properly, while overcooking makes it brittle.
“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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