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
Cook the molasses
In a pot, combine molasses and sugar.
Stir occasionally while boiling.
Before removing from heat, add butter and baking soda.
Set and pull
Pour into buttered tins.
Once cool enough, pull the candy.
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.
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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Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Molasses + buttertop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,123 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 main sweetness, dark flavor, and the body of the candy.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the mixture cook to a firm, candy-like set.
- Butter
- Adds fat, which softens the texture and gives a richer mouthfeel.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic molasses to release gas, lightening the candy's texture.
The step that matters
Adding the baking soda before removing from heat. Baking soda reacts with the acid in molasses and foams vigorously, so it must be stirred in quickly. Adding it at the end keeps the gas bubbles trapped as the candy sets, giving a lighter texture.
“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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