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Dessert

Rainbow Fudge

A sweet fudge made by cooking sugar, glucose, and cream, then adding fondant and coloring.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Rainbow Fudge

Ingredients

Directions

Make the base

  1. In a large pot, combine sugar, glucose, and cream.

  2. Cook over medium heat until the mixture reaches 236°F to 238°F.

  3. Remove from heat and stir in the fondant until dissolved.

Color and set

  1. Divide the mixture into four equal parts in separate bowls or pans.

  2. Leave one part white, color one pink, one maple, and the last one chocolate.

  3. Line a slab with paper and pour each colored batch on top of the others, allowing them to mix slightly.

  4. Once cooled, cut into one-inch squares.

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 + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  2. Cream + chocolatetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  3. Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 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 bulk of the fudge and, as it cooks, sets into a firm, sliceable structure.
Glucose
Interferes with sugar crystal formation, producing a smoother, less grainy texture.
Cream
Adds fat and moisture, giving the fudge a rich, soft body.
Fondant
Adds fine sugar crystals that encourage a smooth, creamy texture.

The step that matters

Cooking to 236°F to 238°F. Sugar syrup sets according to its final temperature, which concentrates the sugar as water evaporates. Stopping short leaves fudge soft and runny, while overcooking makes it hard and crumbly.

“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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