Why it works: Sugar and honey are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 22% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,932 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Honey Caeamels
Ingredients
Directions
Combine sugar, honey, and glucose in a large pot.
Heat the mixture over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Continue to cook until the mixture reaches the desired consistency.
Pour into a greased pan and let it cool before cutting into pieces.
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.
-
Sugar + honeytop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,932 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Provides sweetness and, as it cooks, firms up into a set candy structure.
- Honey
- Adds sweetness and flavor and helps keep the candy soft and moist.
- Glucose
- Inhibits crystallization, keeping the candy smooth rather than grainy.
The step that matters
Cooking to the desired consistency. Sugar candy sets according to how far its water has cooked off. Cooking too short leaves it sticky and soft; cooking too long makes it hard or brittle. Stirring only until the sugar dissolves helps avoid crystals forming.
“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.
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.