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 ↓
Butter Scotch Candy
Ingredients
Directions
Make the candy
Combine brown sugar, butter, vinegar, water, and baking soda in a large pot.
Boil the mixture for half an hour.
Test for doneness by dropping a small amount into hot water; if it becomes crisp, it is ready.
Set the candy
Pour the candy into pans or platters, spreading it as thin as possible.
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 + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Butter + vinegartop 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
- Brown sugar
- Provides sweetness and the caramel flavor and color of the candy.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a rich texture and smooth, glossy candy.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the mixture to lighten the candy's texture.
The step that matters
Test for doneness in hot water. Boiling sugar syrup must reach the right concentration to set crisp. Undercooked candy stays sticky, while overcooked candy turns hard, brittle, or scorched.
“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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