Name: Molasses Cream Cuts
Ingredients: 4 lbs sugar; 2 lbs glucose; 1 qt water; 2 lbs fine macaroon coconut; ½ lb butter; 1 pt New Orleans molasses; ½ cup cream

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 mixture reaches 238°F (114°C).
Pour the mixture onto a damp slab.
Immediately add 2 lbs fine macaroon coconut and cream it together.
Cover the mixture to keep it warm.

Make the molasses base

Combine 10 lbs sugar and 1 pt New Orleans molasses in another pot.
Cook until the mixture reaches 280°F (138°C).
Add ½ lb butter and continue cooking until it reaches 286°F (141°C).
Pour this mixture onto a slab.
Once cool, pull the mixture on a hook.

Add cream and shape

While pulling, have a helper gradually pour in ½ cup cream.
Work the cream into the mixture.
Form it into a flat piece and place the cream center on top.
Fold the edges around the cream.
Pull it into the size of stick candy.

Set and cut

Let it set until grained.
Break it into pieces 3 to 4 inches long.

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.

Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,225 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Coconut + buttertop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,467 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked 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 sets the firmness as it cooks to temperature.
Glucose: Interferes with sugar crystallization, keeping the candy smoother and less grainy.
Fine macaroon coconut: Adds bulk, chew and flavor to the coconut base before it is wrapped in molasses candy.
New orleans molasses: Adds deep flavor, color and moisture to the molasses candy.
Butter: Adds richness and a tender, softer bite to the molasses candy.
Cream: Adds softness and creaminess to the center when worked into the pulled candy.

The step that matters

Cooking the molasses mixture to 286°F (141°C). Cooking to the exact temperature controls how much water is left, which determines whether the candy sets firm or stays soft. Undercooking leaves it sticky, while overcooking makes it brittle and hard to pull.