Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Butter Scotch
Ingredients
Directions
Make the candy
Boil the sugar, molasses, vinegar, and boiling water together until it hardens when dropped into cold water.
Pour and mark
Pour the mixture into a well-buttered pan.
When slightly cool, mark the surface into squares with a sharp knife.
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 + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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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).
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Molasses + vinegartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,253 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Forms the sweet, crisp structure that sets as the mixture cools.
- Molasses
- Adds deep flavor, dark color, and chewiness to the candy.
- Vinegar
- Acidity helps keep the sugar from turning grainy during cooking.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smoother bite, and keeps the candy from sticking to the pan.
The step that matters
Boiling until it hardens in cold water. The sugar's final texture depends on how far it is cooked. Stopping too early leaves the candy soft and sticky, while cooking too long makes it brittle and can scorch the molasses, giving a bitter taste.
“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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