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
Make the syrup
Combine the brown sugar, water, vinegar, and butter in a saucepan.
Bring to a boil without stirring.
Add the baking soda and continue boiling until the candy reaches the desired consistency.
Pull the candy
Pull the candy without twisting it.
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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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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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
- Brown sugar
- Provides the sweetness and the bulk that cooks down into firm, chewy candy.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that helps keep the sugar from crystallizing into a grainy texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a richer flavour and a smoother, less brittle texture.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid to release gas, lightening the candy's colour and texture.
The step that matters
Bring to a boil without stirring. Stirring a boiling sugar syrup agitates it and can trigger sugar crystals to form, making the candy grainy instead of smooth.
“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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