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Cocoanut Caramels

Coconut caramels are made by cooking sugar with coconut and lemon juice, then cooling and cutting into bars.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Warren, Pa. Presbyterian church. Second auxiliary missionary society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Sugar and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Cocoanut Caramels

Ingredients

Directions

Make the first caramel

  1. Combine the size of an egg of fresh coconut grated fine (or an equal quantity of desiccated coconut) with 8 pounds granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons lemon juice (strained) in a pot.

  2. Boil slowly until stiff.

  3. Beat to a cream.

  4. Pour into shallow pans.

  5. When partly cool, mark off in squares.

Make the second caramel

  1. Combine 4 cups sugar, 1 cup water, and 1 teaspoon cream of tartar in a pot.

  2. Cook until it makes a soft ball when dropped in cold water.

  3. Remove from fire.

  4. Beat until it thickens.

  5. Add coconut.

  6. Turn into buttered pans.

  7. Cool and cut into bars.

Make the third caramel

  1. Combine 4 cups granulated sugar and 1 cup milk in a pot.

  2. Boil for three minutes.

  3. Stir until it begins to thicken.

  4. Add 1 grated coconut, or an equal quantity of desiccated coconut.

  5. Spread on buttered pans.

  6. Cut into bars.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

61Calories
0 gProtein
0 gFat
16 gCarbs

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
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
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.

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. Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together53,532 recipes

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

Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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

Granulated sugar
Provides the sweetness and, once boiled, the firm body of the caramel.
Coconut (in the method)
Adds flavour and chewy texture to the caramel.
Milk (in the method)
Adds richness and creaminess to the third caramel.
Cream of tartar (in the method)
Helps prevent the sugar from crystallising, keeping the caramel smooth.

The step that matters

Boil the sugar to a soft ball stage. Sugar syrup must reach the right temperature to set correctly; too little cooking leaves the caramel soft and sticky, while too much makes it hard and brittle.

“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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