Skip to main content
Dessert

Ocean Foam

A sweet confection made from sugar, molasses, walnuts, vinegar, and eggs, boiled and beaten into a stiff mixture.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Sugar and molasses 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 ↓

Ocean Foam

Ingredients

Directions

Make the first syrup

  1. Combine two cups sugar, one-half cup molasses, (Rose Bud Drip), and one-half cup boiling water.

  2. Boil until it hardens in water.

  3. Remove from heat.

Add eggs and walnuts

  1. Add well-beaten whites of two eggs and one cup chopped walnuts.

  2. Beat until stiff.

  3. Drop onto buttered plates.

Make the second syrup

  1. Combine one and one-half pints granulated sugar, one-half pint water, one teaspoonful vinegar or one-fourth teaspoonful cream of tartar.

  2. Boil until it makes a soft ball in water.

  3. Cool until warm.

Shape and store

  1. Flavor and stir until it resembles dough.

  2. Mold immediately or place in a sealed jar for future use.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

214Calories
7 gProtein
8 gFat
29 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Walnut1 walnut half (4g)26
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
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 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. See the original page.

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

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,806 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  3. Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Walnut + vinegartop 22% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,769 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  5. Walnut + eggtop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,037 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Sugar
Provides sweetness and, when boiled, sets into a firm candy structure.
Molasses
Adds depth of flavour and colour, and helps stop the sugar from crystallising.
Eggs
Beaten whites trap air in the syrup, giving the candy a light, foamy texture.
Walnuts
Add crunch and a nutty flavour that contrasts with the soft foam.
Vinegar
Adds a little acid that helps keep the sugar from crystallising.

The step that matters

Boil the second syrup to a soft ball. The boiling temperature sets how much water remains in the sugar syrup, which controls firmness. Underboiling leaves the candy too soft to hold its shape, while overboiling makes it hard and brittle.

Swap the walnut

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, molasses, vinegar, egg):

  1. Sesamefits about as well
  2. Almondfits about as well
  3. Walnutthe original
  4. Chestnutfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, molasses, vinegar, egg. 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.

You might also like

Molasses CookiesMolasses Cookies96 recipesMolasses CakeMolasses Cake90 recipesMolasses Sponge CakeMolasses Sponge Cake9 recipesWhite CakeWhite Cake431 recipes