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Molasses Candy

A taffy made by boiling molasses with vinegar, sugar, butter and soda, then pulling or cutting it into pieces.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Chippewa Falls, Wis. Episcopal church. Ladies aid society. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Molasses and sugar 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 ↓

Molasses Candy

Ingredients

Directions

Make the taffy

  1. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar.

  2. Pour the sugar and vinegar into the molasses and boil, stirring frequently, until it will harden when dropped into water.

  3. Stir in the butter and the soda dissolved in warm water. Flavor to taste.

  4. Stir it up well and pour into buttered plates or tins.

Cool and shape

  1. As it cools, cut in squares for taffy, or pull with the tips of the fingers until white, and cut in sticks.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

264Calories
0 gProtein
12 gFat
41 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
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Maple Syrup1 tbsp (20ml)52
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
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.

By Chippewa Falls, Wis. Episcopal church. Ladies aid 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. Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Vinegar + sugartop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,806 recipes

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

  3. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Vinegar + buttertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together13,513 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).

  5. Molasses + vinegartop 26% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,253 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Molasses
Provides the dark color, rich flavor and chewy body of the taffy.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and, when boiled, sets into a firm, brittle-to-chewy candy.
Vinegar
Acidity helps keep the sugar from crystallizing, giving a smoother texture.
Saleratus
Reacts with the acid in the vinegar and molasses, lightening the color and softening the candy.
Butter
Adds fat that tenderizes the candy and gives it a softer bite.

The step that matters

Boiling to the hard-drop stage. The candy must reach the point where it hardens when dropped into water. Undercooked taffy stays sticky, while overcooked taffy becomes too hard to pull. Stirring frequently prevents scorching on the bottom of the pan.

“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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