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 ↓
Vinegar Candy
Ingredients
Directions
In a saucepan, combine sugar, water, and vinegar.
Stir the mixture before placing it on the stove, but do not stir after that.
Cook over medium heat until it reaches the desired candy stage.
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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Forms the candy itself and provides all of its sweetness as it sets.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that helps keep the sugar from crystallizing into a grainy texture.
The step that matters
Do not stir after the mixture goes on the stove. Stirring a hot sugar syrup can encourage sugar crystals to form, which makes the candy grainy. Stirring only before heating lets the sugar dissolve evenly first.
“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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