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Dessert

Molasses Mint Chews

A chewy candy made from sugar, glucose, molasses, butter, and peppermint flavoring.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

Molasses Mint Chews

Ingredients

Directions

Make the base

  1. In a large pot, combine sugar, glucose, and enough water to dissolve.

  2. Cook the mixture to 250°F (120°C).

  3. Add molasses and butter, then cook again to 250°F (120°C).

  4. Pour the mixture onto a slab and pinch off ¼ lb to keep warm.

Pull and shape

  1. Pull the batch and flavor it with peppermint while on the hook.

  2. Lay the batch on a table, form it into a round shape, and place 8 thin stripes on top.

  3. Pull out the stripes and cut them with a butter cup cutter.

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 + molassestop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  3. Butter + pepperminttop 25% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together958 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Sugar + pepperminttop 29% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,082 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Molasses + buttertop 30% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,123 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Sugar
Provides the bulk of the sweetness and the structure that sets as the candy cools.
Glucose
Inhibits crystallization, keeping the candy smooth and chewy rather than grainy.
Molasses
Adds depth of flavor and color, along with extra moisture and chewiness.
Butter
Adds fat that softens the texture and gives the chews a richer mouthfeel.
Paraffin
Adds a glossy finish and helps the chews hold their shape without sticking.

The step that matters

Cooking to 250°F (120°C). The sugar concentration at this temperature determines the final chew. Undercooking leaves the candy soft and sticky, while overcooking makes it hard and brittle.

Swap the peppermint

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, molasses, butter):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Gingerfits better
  3. Nutmegfits better
  4. Peppermintthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, molasses, butter. 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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