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Dessert

Molasses Mints

A sweet candy made from sugar, molasses, and peppermint, cooked to a hard glaze and cut into strips.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Molasses Mints

Ingredients

Directions

Make the sugar base

  1. Combine 10 lbs sugar, 1 teaspoon cream of tartar, and 2 quarts water in a kettle.

  2. Heat the mixture until it boils.

  3. Remove the paddle and wash the sides of the kettle with a wet scrub brush.

  4. Cover the kettle and steam for several minutes.

  5. Remove the cover, insert a thermometer, and cook until the temperature reaches 335°F (170°C).

  6. Add 1 pint molasses and let it boil well.

Pull and shape

  1. Remove the mixture from heat and pour it onto a greased slab.

  2. Fold the edges of the slab in and take a small piece to knead with shaved liquor chocolate, keeping it warm.

  3. Put on gloves and pull the remaining batch until it achieves a high gloss, flavoring it with peppermint while pulling.

  4. Knead out the air.

  5. Form the mixture into a loaf.

  6. Place about ten narrow strips on top with the chocolate piece.

  7. Pull the loaf into small strips.

  8. Cut the strips using 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 + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  2. Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Cream + chocolatetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,466 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).

  4. Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Cream + molassestop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,408 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
Forms the bulk of the candy and sets into a firm, glassy structure as it cooks.
Molasses
Adds deep flavor and color and softens the texture of the cooked sugar.
Cream of tartar
Acid that helps prevent sugar crystals from forming, keeping the candy smooth.

The step that matters

Cooking to 335°F (170°C). Sugar syrup must reach the right temperature to set firm after cooling. Too low and the mints stay soft and sticky; too high and they turn brittle or bitter.

“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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