Why it works: Sugar and molasses 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 ↓
Pop-corn Balls
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Pop the corn and remove all hard kernels.
Salt and butter the popcorn.
Make the syrup
In a large pan, combine sugar and molasses and boil until a drop in cold water becomes brittle.
Form the balls
Pour the syrup in a thin stream over the popcorn while one person stirs constantly.
Work the mixture into balls using your hands.
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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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Molasses + buttertop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked 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
- Sugar
- Provides sweetness and, when boiled, hardens into a brittle syrup that binds the popcorn.
- Molasses
- Adds deep flavour and sweetness and helps the syrup set firm as it cools.
- Popcorn
- Forms the bulk of the balls, with the syrup coating it and holding it together.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving a softer bite and helping the coating spread.
The step that matters
Boiling the syrup to the brittle stage. Sugar syrup sets according to its temperature. If it is boiled too little, the balls stay sticky and will not hold their shape. If boiled too long, the syrup turns bitter and hard. Testing a drop in cold water shows when it is ready.
“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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