Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Molasses Cream Cuts
Ingredients
Directions
Make the coconut base
Combine 4 lbs sugar, 2 lbs glucose, and 1 qt water in a pot.
Cook until the temperature reaches 238°F (114°C).
Pour the mixture onto a damp slab.
Add 2 lbs fine macaroon coconut.
Cream together.
Cover to keep warm.
Make the molasses mixture
Combine 10 lbs sugar and 1 pt New Orleans molasses in another pot.
Cook until the temperature reaches 280°F (138°C).
Add ½ lb butter.
Continue cooking until the temperature reaches 286°F (141°C).
Pour this mixture onto the slab.
Pull and cut
Once cool, pull the mixture using a hook.
While pulling, have a helper gradually pour in ⅓ cup cream.
Form the mixture into a flat piece.
Place the cream center on it.
Fold the edges around the center.
Pull the candy to the desired stick size.
Let it set until it grains.
Break into pieces 3 to 4 inches long.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Coconut + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,467 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 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 crystalline candy base and provides sweetness when cooked to temperature.
- Glucose
- Interferes with sugar crystal formation, keeping the candy smoother and less grainy.
- Fine macaroon coconut
- Adds coconut flavor and bulk to the cream center.
- New orleans molasses
- Adds deep flavor, color and moisture to the molasses mixture.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a softer, richer texture in the candy.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness as it is worked into the candy.
The step that matters
Pulling the molasses mixture after it cools. Pulling incorporates air and forms the candy's texture; pulling while it is too hot can cause sticking and uneven results, and too cool a mass becomes hard to work. Temperature control during cooking determines the final texture.
Swap the coconut
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, molasses, butter, cream):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits about as well
- Coconutthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, molasses, butter, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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