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Dessert

Marshmallow Fudge

A sweet fudge made with marshmallows, sugar, cocoa, milk, butter, and vanilla.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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Why it works: Cocoa and vanilla work together. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 357 recipes. Both carry sotolon, which smells curry, maple. The science ↓

Marshmallow Fudge

Ingredients

Directions

Make the fudge base

  1. In a saucepan, mix the sugar and cocoa.

  2. Add the milk, butter, and salt, then bring to a boil over low heat.

  3. Stir in the marshmallows and cook until the mixture forms a soft ball in water.

  4. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Set and cut

  1. Let cool, then beat the mixture and pour it into buttered pans.

  2. Cut into small squares once set.

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. Cocoa + vanillatop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together357 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

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

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

  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. Milk + cocoatop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together643 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

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

Granulated sugar
Provides sweetness and, as it cooks, the sugar concentration that determines the fudge's final firmness.
Cocoa
Adds chocolate flavor and deep brown color.
Marshmallows
Melt into the mixture to add softness and a smooth, creamy body.
Milk
Dissolves the sugar and adds creaminess and richness.
Butter
Adds fat for a smooth texture and rich flavor.

The step that matters

Cooking to the soft ball stage. The sugar must reach the soft ball stage so the candy sets to a soft, fudgy texture. Stopping early leaves the fudge runny and unset, while cooking too long makes it hard and grainy as too much water boils off and the sugar crystallizes.

Swap the cocoa

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk, vanilla, butter):

  1. Almondfits about as well
  2. Cocoathe original
  3. Chestnutfits about as well
  4. Hazelnutfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, milk, vanilla, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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