Name: Molasses Peppermint Chips
Ingredients: 1 gallon dark molasses; ½ pound butter; 2 pounds sugar; peppermint oil (to taste)

Why it works: Molasses and sugar 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 Peppermint Chips

Ingredients

1 gallon dark molasses
½ pound butter
2 pounds sugar
peppermint oil (to taste)

Directions

Make the candy base

In a large pot, combine dark molasses, butter, and sugar.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture reaches 270°F (132°C).

Pull and shape

Pour the mixture onto a slab and fold up the edges.
Form the mixture into a shape suitable for pulling on a hook.
While pulling, flavor the candy with peppermint oil.
Continue pulling until the candy turns a golden color.
Twist out the air and shape it into a flat piece in front of a table furnace.
Pull out the candy to form Boston chips.

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.

Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,225 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together98,233 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Butter + pepperminttop 25% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together958 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Sugar + pepperminttop 29% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,082 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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

Dark molasses: Provides the main body, dark color and deep sweet flavor of the candy.
Butter: Adds fat that softens the texture and gives the candy a richer mouthfeel.
Sugar: Sets the sweetness and helps the mixture cook into a firm, glossy candy when cooled.

The step that matters

Cooking to 270°F (132°C) while stirring constantly. Cooking to the correct temperature controls how much water remains, which determines whether the candy sets firm or stays sticky. Constant stirring prevents scorching on the pot bottom, since sugar-rich mixtures burn easily.