Why it works: Molasses and corn work together. They rank in the top 26% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 644 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Popcorn Balls
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the molasses for 15 minutes.
Pour the boiling molasses over the popped corn in a large pan and stir until thoroughly mixed.
Shape the mixture into balls.
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.
-
Molasses + corntop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together644 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
- Boiling thickens it, and as it cools it binds the popped corn together and adds sweetness and flavor.
- Popped corn
- Forms the bulk of the balls, and its light, airy texture is what the molasses coats and holds together.
The step that matters
Stir until thoroughly mixed. Every piece of popped corn needs an even coating of molasses, or the balls will be patchy and may fall apart when shaped. Work quickly, since the syrup cools and stiffens as you stir.
“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.
More popcorn balls recipes
You might also like
Molasses Cookies96 recipes
Corn Cake90 recipes
Molasses Cake90 recipes
Corn Starch Cake89 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.