Name: Oh, Joy Fudge
Ingredients: 4 cups granulated sugar; 1 cup brown sugar; ½ cup butter; 1 lb bitter chocolate, shaved; 2 oz molasses; 2 cups 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 ↓

Oh, Joy Fudge

Ingredients

Directions

Make the fudge

Combine granulated sugar, brown sugar, butter, shaved chocolate, molasses, and cream in a large kettle.
Stir continuously and cook until it reaches a very soft ball stage, about 238°F (114°C).
Remove from heat and stir briskly until thick like putty.
Return to heat and stir until thinned down again.

Set and store

Pour onto wax paper laid on a greased slab and spread to ½ inch thick.
Once set, mark into one-inch squares and break off for storage.

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).
Chocolate + creamtop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,466 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together15,404 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

Granulated sugar: Provides sweetness and the bulk of the sugar structure that sets into fudge as it cools.
Brown sugar: Adds moisture and a deeper, caramel-like flavour to the fudge.
Butter: Adds fat for a smooth, tender texture and richer mouthfeel.
Bitter chocolate: Supplies the main chocolate flavour and fat that firm up as the fudge cools.
Molasses: Adds moisture, dark colour and a robust, slightly bitter sweetness.
Cream: Adds milk fat and moisture, helping the fudge stay smooth and creamy.

The step that matters

Stirring after the soft ball stage. Sugar must reach the soft ball stage, about 238°F (114°C), so the syrup has the right water content. Stirring while it cools makes tiny sugar crystals form, giving a creamy, fine-grained texture. Stirring too early or too late can make the fudge grainy or too soft.

“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.