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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

The book gives no oven temperature. The 250°F (120°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Make the syrup

  1. Combine sugar, glucose, and enough water to dissolve in a large pot.

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

  3. Add molasses and butter.

  4. Cook again to 250°F (120°C).

Pull and shape

  1. Pour the mixture onto a slab.

  2. Pinch off ½ lb to keep warm.

  3. Pull the batch and flavor with peppermint while on the hook.

  4. Lay the batch on a table.

  5. Form it into a round shape.

  6. Place 8 thin stripes on top.

  7. Pull out the stripes.

  8. Cut 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 firm, chewy body once cooled.
Glucose
Inhibits crystallization, keeping the candy smooth and stopping it from turning grainy.
Molasses
Adds deep flavor, color, and some extra moisture to the chew.
Butter
Adds fat that softens the texture and gives a richer mouthfeel.
Paraffin or substitute
Gives the chews a glossy finish and helps them hold their shape.

The step that matters

Cooking to 250°F (120°C) both times. The sugar concentration at this temperature sets the chew's firmness. Undercooking leaves it sticky and soft, 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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