Name: Quick Chocolate Fudge
Ingredients: 1 cup maple syrup OR 1 cup corn syrup (if you're poor like me); 1 cup nut butter of your choice (poor people use peanut; rich use cashew); 2/3 cup 100% pure fine cocoa powder, sifted; 1/3 cup raw sesame seeds

Why it works: Peanut and sesame match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 349 recipes. Both carry 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine, which smells roasted, nutty. The science ↓

Quick Chocolate Fudge

Timeat least 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup maple syrup OR 1 cup corn syrup (if you're poor like me)
1 cup nut butter of your choice (poor people use peanut; rich use cashew)
2/3 cup 100% pure fine cocoa powder, sifted
1/3 cup raw sesame seeds

Directions

Make the fudge

Heat maple syrup and nut butter together in a heavy-bottomed pot, stirring constantly over low heat until well combined.
Remove from heat and stir in cocoa powder until well mixed.

Set and serve

Pour into a loaf pan or similar casserole dish and press sesame seeds into the top with your hands or a rubber spatula.
Let set for at least 15 minutes in the fridge.
Cut into small squares and eat.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

824Calories

17 gProtein

61 gFat

61 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 9 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Peanut	1 oz (28g)	161
Cashew	1 oz (28g / ~18 nuts)	157
Chocolate	1 oz (28g) semisweet	155
Sesame	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Maple Syrup	1 tbsp (20ml)	52
Syrup	not in our table	0
Nut	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

Peanut + sesametop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together349 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Peanut + cocoa powdertop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together241 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-ethyl-3,6-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).
Butter + cocoa powdertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,130 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Maple syrup + cocoa powdertop 15% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together68 recipes

Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).
Butter + peanuttop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,754 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Maple syrup: Provides sweetness and liquid that binds the fudge into a smooth, pliable mass.
Nut butter: Supplies fat and body, giving the fudge a rich, creamy texture when it sets.
Cocoa powder: Supplies the chocolate flavour and firms the mixture as it absorbs liquid.

Swap the sesame

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (maple syrup, butter, peanut, cocoa powder):

Pecansfits better
Flaxseedfits about as well
Hazelnutfits about as well
Sesamethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against maple syrup, butter, peanut, cocoa powder. 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.