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 ↓
Sugar Candy
Ingredients
Directions
Combine sugar, vinegar, and water in a large pot.
Boil without stirring for 30 minutes.
Dissolve baking soda in a little hot water and add it to the mixture.
Stir in butter at the end.
Flavor to taste.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Vinegar + buttertop 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
- White sugar
- Forms the bulk of the candy and sets into a brittle, glassy texture as it cooks.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that helps prevent the sugar from crystallizing into grainy candy.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the hot syrup, releasing gas that lightens the candy's texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smoother mouthfeel and richer flavor.
The step that matters
Boil without stirring for 30 minutes. Stirring a boiling sugar syrup can encourage sugar crystals to form, which makes the candy grainy instead of smooth. Keeping the syrup undisturbed lets it reach the right concentration cleanly.
“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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