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 ↓
Molasses Candy
Ingredients
Directions
Make the candy
Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar.
Mix the sugar-vinegar mixture with the molasses and boil, stirring frequently, until it hardens when a drop is tested in cold water.
Stir in the butter and baking soda (dissolved in a little hot water).
Give one hard final stir and pour onto buttered dishes.
Shape and cut
Work with buttered hands and pull into long sticks.
Place on dishes; when cold, it can be easily cut.
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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Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Vinegar + sugartop 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).
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Molasses + vinegartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,253 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
- Provides the bulk of the candy and its dark color and rich, sweet flavor.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and, once dissolved and boiled, helps the candy set firm.
- Vinegar
- Acidity helps invert some of the sugar, keeping the candy smooth and less grainy.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a softer bite and helps keep the candy from sticking to hands.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid to add air bubbles, lightening the candy's texture.
The step that matters
Boil until it hardens in cold water. Cooking to the right point controls how firm the candy sets. Stop too early and it stays sticky; go too far and it becomes brittle. The cold-water test shows when the sugar concentration is correct.
“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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