Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Stick Candy
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Combine one pound granulated sugar, one cup water, a quarter cup vinegar, half teaspoon cream of tartar, and one small tablespoon glycerine.
Add flavoring (vanilla, rose, or lemon) to the mixture.
Boil the mixture (without the flavoring) without stirring for twenty minutes to half an hour, or until crisp when dropped in water.
Pour and cool
Just before pouring onto greased platters to cool, add half teaspoon soda.
After pouring onto platters to cool, pour two teaspoons of flavoring over the top.
Pull and shape
When partly cool, pull the mixture until very white.
Draw the mixture into sticks the desired size, and cut off with shears into sticks or kiss‑shaped drops.
Optionally color the candy (see page 444 for coloring).
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Water | 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.
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Vinegar + creamtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,064 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Granulated sugar
- Forms the candy's main structure and sweetness once the syrup hardens on cooling.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that helps keep the sugar from crystallizing into a grainy texture.
- Cream of tartar
- Acid that helps prevent sugar crystals from forming, keeping the candy smooth.
- Glycerine
- Helps the candy stay soft and resist crystallizing rather than turning brittle and grainy.
- Soda
- Reacts with the acid in the syrup, lightening the mixture as it is poured.
- Flavoring
- Provides the aroma and taste of the candy.
The step that matters
Boil without stirring until crisp in water. Stirring can trigger sugar crystals that make the candy grainy. The syrup must reach a hard, brittle stage, so the candy sets firm rather than sticky.
“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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