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Dessert

Cocoanut and Chocolate Caramels

A sweet treat made by cooking sugar with milk and coconut, then setting into buttered pans and cutting into squares.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Cocoanut and Chocolate Caramels

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Grate the coconut and set aside.

Make the coconut caramels

  1. In a pot, combine 2 pounds of sugar with the milk and water (if needed).

  2. Cook the mixture until it ropes when poured from a spoon.

  3. Stir in the grated coconut and pour into buttered pans.

Make the chocolate caramels

  1. For chocolate caramels, in another pot, combine 1 pint of milk, 3 pounds of sugar, and ½ pound of butter.

  2. Bring to a boil, then add the scraped chocolate.

  3. Boil until thick, stirring constantly.

  4. Optionally, mix the chocolate with 1 cup of boiling milk before adding.

  5. Flavor with lemon or vanilla, then pour into buttered pans.

Finish

  1. When nearly cool, cut into small squares.

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.

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. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Chocolate + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

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

  5. Sugar + chocolatetop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together15,404 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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

Sugar
Provides sweetness and, when cooked down, the firm chewy body of the caramel.
Milk
Adds moisture and creaminess, softening the sugar into a smooth, chewy caramel.
Butter
Adds fat for a tender, smooth texture and rich flavor.
Chocolate
Adds chocolate flavor and color, and fat that helps make the caramel smooth.
Coconut (in the method)
Adds texture and a toasty, sweet coconut flavor throughout the caramel.

The step that matters

Boil until thick, stirring constantly. Sugar syrup needs enough cooking to set into a firm caramel, but overcooking makes it hard or grainy. Constant stirring keeps the mixture from scorching on the bottom of the pot and helps it cook evenly.

“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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