Why it works: Sugar and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,806 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Sugar Nut Candy
Ingredients
Directions
Put the sugar, butter, vinegar, and water together into a thick saucepan.
Heat until the mixture begins to thicken.
Add the nuts.
Take a very small quantity from the centre, taking care not to disturb it, drop it into cold water, and remove from the fire when the little particles are brittle.
Pour the mixture into buttered plates.
Use any nuts with this recipe.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 5 ingredients. The other 2 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Vinegar | 1 tbsp (15ml) distilled | 3 |
| Hickory Nut | not in our table | 0 |
| 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.
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Vinegar + buttertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,513 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- White sugar
- Forms the brittle candy base as it cooks down and sets hard.
- Hickory nut kernels
- Provide the nutty flavour and crunch throughout the candy.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, softening the candy's texture and helping it release from the plates.
- Vinegar
- Acidity helps keep the sugar from crystallising too grainy, giving a smoother candy.
The step that matters
Testing for brittleness. Removing the mixture from the fire too early leaves it soft and sticky, while waiting too long can scorch the sugar. The small cold-water test shows when the sugar has reached the hard-crack stage, so the candy sets brittle rather than chewy.
“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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