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 ↓
Butter-scotch
Ingredients
Directions
Make the butterscotch
In a saucepan, combine the sugar and butter.
Cook over medium heat, stirring until the mixture is smooth.
Add the vinegar and continue to cook, stirring constantly until it reaches a soft ball stage.
Cool and serve
Remove from heat and let cool before serving.
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 + 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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Butter + vinegartop 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
- Sugar
- Forms the sweet base and sets into the firm, brittle candy structure as it cooks.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, giving the candy a smooth texture and buttery flavor.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that helps keep the sugar from crystallizing, giving a smoother candy.
The step that matters
Cooking to the soft ball stage. Sugar syrup must reach the right temperature to set correctly. Stirring constantly prevents scorching and crystallization, so the texture turns out smooth rather than grainy or hard.
“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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