Why it works: Coffee and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,344 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Wintergrken Taffy
Ingredients
Directions
Boil until it snaps when dropped into water.
When partly cool, add 10 drops of oil of wintergreen, and pull over a large nail.
Pull into long strips and cut.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Olive Oil | 1 tbsp (14g) | 119 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Coffee | 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.
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.
-
Coffee + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,344 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Forms the firm, glossy body of the taffy and provides its sweetness.
- Glucose
- Interferes with sugar crystals forming, keeping the taffy smooth and chewy rather than grainy.
- Oil of wintergreen
- Adds the strong minty flavour that defines this candy.
The step that matters
Boil until it snaps when dropped into water. Cooking the sugar syrup to the right stage controls how hard the candy sets. Stopping too early leaves it sticky, while cooking too long makes it brittle and can scorch the sugar.
“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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