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 Candy
Ingredients
Directions
Make the candy
Combine sugar, vinegar, and water in a large pot.
Boil without stirring for 30 minutes or until it ropes or hardens in cold water.
Remove from heat and add butter and baking soda dissolved in hot water.
Finish
Pull the candy white with your fingertips.
Flavor as desired.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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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
- Sugar
- Forms the candy's structure and sweetness as it cooks to a firm, glassy state.
- Vinegar
- Acidity helps keep the sugar from crystallizing into a grainy texture.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the hot acidic syrup, creating gas bubbles that lighten the candy's texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a softer bite and richer flavor.
The step that matters
Boil without stirring. Stirring during boiling can trigger sugar crystals to form, making the candy grainy. Judging doneness by the rope or hardness test matters because the sugar's final texture depends on how far it has cooked.
“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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