Why it works: Sugar and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Taffy Candy
Ingredients
Directions
Make the candy
Combine 3 cupfuls granulated sugar, 3 cupfuls water, 2 tablespoonfuls vinegar, a little flavoring extract, and 1 tablespoonful butter.
Boil without stirring until it cracks when dropped in water. Pour into buttered tins until cool enough to handle, pull until white.
Add the flavorings
Add 10 drops oil of lavender, 20 drops rosemary, 30 drops lemon, 30 drops bergamot.
Add 3 drops cinnamon, 40 drops neroli.
Add 2 grains musk, 6 drops ottar of roses.
Add 1 pint alcohol.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 7 ingredients. The other 3 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Cinnamon | 1 tsp ground (2.6g) | 6 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Rose | not in our table | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
| Neroli | 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.
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Rose + cinnamontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together892 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
-
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Butter + cinnamontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,784 recipes
Shared aroma: anethole (sweet, anise).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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 into a concentrated syrup that sets firm and sweet as it cools.
- Vinegar
- Its acid partly breaks down sugar, helping keep the candy smooth rather than grainy.
- Butter
- Fat softens the texture and keeps the pulled candy from becoming brittle.
The step that matters
Boil without stirring until it cracks when dropped in water. The candy's texture depends on how concentrated the sugar syrup becomes. Stirring can trigger sugar crystals to form, which makes the candy grainy instead of smooth.
“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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