Skip to main content
Dessert

Caramel Candy

A sweet confection made by caramelizing sugar with butter, milk, and optional nuts or chocolate.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 19 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Chocolate and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,020 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓

Caramel Candy

Ingredients

Directions

Make the first candy

  1. Combine 3 cups sugar, 1 cup milk, 1 cup chopped walnuts, and 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan.

  2. Caramelize 1 cup sugar, then add milk.

  3. Let all the sugar dissolve, then add the other 2 cups sugar and butter.

  4. Cook until it hardens in water.

  5. Remove from the fire and add nuts.

  6. Pour onto a buttered pan and cut into squares.

Make the second candy

  1. Combine 2 cups granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons vinegar, 2 tablespoons butter, and enough water to moisten the sugar in a saucepan.

  2. Cook until nearly done, which can be told by testing in cold water.

  3. Add 1 cup grated chocolate and 2 teaspoons Royce's vanilla.

  4. Pour into buttered pans.

  5. While still warm, cut into squares with the back of a knife.

Make the third candy

  1. Combine 2 tablespoons butter, 1 cup molasses, 2 cups brown sugar, 1 cup milk, 3 squares chocolate, and 1 teaspoon Royce's vanilla in a kettle.

  2. Boil until, when tested in cold water, a firm ball may be formed in the fingers.

  3. Add Royce's vanilla just after taking from the fire.

  4. Pour into a buttered pan.

  5. Cool and cut into small squares.

Make the fourth candy

  1. Combine 1 cup molasses, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup butter, and 1 cup grated chocolate in a pot.

  2. Boil until the mixture drops hard in water.

  3. Combine 3 cups sugar, 1 cup molasses, 2 cups milk, 1 cup cake chocolate, and 1/4 cup butter.

  4. Flavor with Royce's vanilla.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

405Calories
2 gProtein
23 gFat
46 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Chocolate1 oz (28g) semisweet155
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Walnut1 walnut half (4g)26
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3

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

By Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog]. 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. Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  2. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

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

  3. Walnut + vanillatop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,730 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Walnut + chocolatetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,548 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine (roasted, nutty).

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

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Sugar
Dissolves and cooks into the firm or brittle candy structure as its syrup hardens.
Butter
Adds richness and a softer, smoother bite to the candy.
Molasses
Adds deep flavor and color, and moisture that keeps the candy chewy.
Chocolate
Adds chocolate flavor and dark color to the candy.
Vinegar
Its acidity helps keep the sugar from crystallizing into grainy candy.
Brown sugar
Adds caramel-like sweetness and depth of flavor.

The step that matters

Testing the sugar in cold water. Sugar syrup changes texture quickly as its temperature rises. Stopping too early leaves the candy sticky, while cooking too long makes it hard, grainy, or scorched.

Swap the walnut

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

  1. Almondfits better
  2. Hazelnutfits better
  3. Chestnutfits better
  4. Walnutthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, vinegar, chocolate, vanilla, molasses. 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

Chocolate CreamChocolate Cream171 recipesVanilla Ice CreamVanilla Ice Cream108 recipesMolasses CookiesMolasses Cookies96 recipesMolasses CakeMolasses Cake90 recipes