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Dessert

Butter Scotch

A boiled mixture of molasses, sugar, and butter used to make a candy.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Why it works: Molasses and sugar 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

  1. Combine molasses, sugar, and butter in a saucepan.

  2. Boil the mixture until it reaches the desired consistency.

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. Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  3. Molasses + buttertop 30% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,123 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

Molasses
Adds deep flavor and moisture, and contributes to the candy's dark color.
Sugar
Provides sweetness and, as it dissolves and cooks, forms the candy's hard structure.
Butter
Adds richness and a smooth texture to the candy.

The step that matters

Boil until the desired consistency. Sugar candy sets firm as water boils off and the sugar concentration rises. Stopping too early leaves it soft and sticky, while cooking too long makes it hard or scorched. Check the stage by testing a small spoonful in cold water.

“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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