Why it works: Sugar and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 77,875 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Fondant
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
In a saucepan, combine sugar and enough milk to dissolve the sugar.
Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved; do not let it boil.
Remove any sugar grains from the edges of the pan.
Boil the mixture without stirring until it forms a firm but not crisp ball when tested in cold water.
Cool and work the fondant
Set the pan in cold water until you can handle it.
Stir, beat, and knead the mixture as it begins to harden.
Add flavoring and any desired chopped nuts, coconut, or candied fruits while creamy.
Shape and finish
Shape the fondant into rolls and dip them into melted chocolate for chocolate creams.
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.
-
Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Granulated sugar
- Forms the sugar structure that sets into the smooth, fine-grained fondant texture.
- Milk
- Dissolves the sugar and adds moisture and softness to the finished fondant.
The step that matters
Boil without stirring to the firm-ball stage. Stirring during boiling can trigger sugar crystallisation, leaving a grainy texture. Testing in cold water shows when enough water has evaporated to set a firm but not brittle candy.
“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.
More fondant recipes
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.