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 ↓
Lemon Candy
Ingredients
Directions
In a saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Cook over low heat for 30 minutes.
Add a little hot vinegar to clear the mixture, removing any scum that rises.
Test the mixture by lifting it with a spoon; it should form threads that snap like glass.
Pour the mixture into a tin pan.
When nearly cool, mark the candy into narrow strips with a knife.
If desired, stir in chopped coconut or sliced nuts before pouring into the pan.
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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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + coconuttop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,742 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Vinegar + coconuttop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together271 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylethanol (rose, floral).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the coconut
The recipe marks coconut as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, vinegar):
- Vanillafits better
- Strawberryfits better
- Pineapplefits better
- Coconutthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, vinegar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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