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Dessert

Dixie Peanut Brittle

A hard candy made with sugar, corn syrup, water, salt, peanuts, butter, and baking soda.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Corn and peanut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 346 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Dixie Peanut Brittle

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Heat sugar, syrup, water and salt to a rolling boil in a heavy saucepan.

  2. Add peanuts.

  3. Reduce heat to medium and stir constantly.

  4. Cook to hard crack stage (293 °F).

  5. Add butter, then baking soda.

  6. Beat rapidly and pour on a buttered surface, spreading to 1/4‑inch thickness.

  7. When cool, break into pieces.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

844Calories
23 gProtein
28 gFat
129 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 8 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Peanut1 oz (28g)161
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Corn1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Syrupnot in our table0
Waternot in our table0

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.

  1. Corn + peanuttop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together346 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

  2. Sugar + syruptop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,842 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Corn + buttertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,345 recipes

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

  4. Peanut + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,754 recipes

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

  5. Corn + syruptop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,678 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

Granulated sugar
Forms the crisp, brittle candy structure as it cooks to hard crack stage.
Light corn syrup
Keeps the sugar from crystallising, giving a smooth, brittle texture.
Raw shelled peanuts
Provide the nutty body and crunch throughout the candy.
Baking soda
Releases gas when added to hot syrup, making the brittle light and airy.

The step that matters

Cook to hard crack stage (293 °F). Stopping below hard crack leaves the brittle soft and chewy instead of snappy. Going much past it can scorch the sugar and give a bitter taste.

Swap the peanut

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, corn, syrup, butter):

  1. Almondfits better
  2. Chestnutfits about as well
  3. Beansfits about as well
  4. Peanutthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, corn, syrup, butter. 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.

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