Why it works: Sugar and peppermint are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 29% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,082 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Cream Peppermints
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
Boil sugar, water, and glucose until it forms a soft ball when dropped in cold water.
Remove from heat and let it cool until lukewarm.
Shape the candies
Flavor with peppermint oil and beat until thick.
Drop spoonfuls onto buttered paper.
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 + pepperminttop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,082 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sugar
- Provides the sweetness and forms the firm, set structure of the candy as it cools.
- Glucose
- Interferes with sugar crystals forming, keeping the candy smooth rather than grainy.
The step that matters
Boiling to the soft-ball stage. The sugar's concentration determines the final texture. Stopping too early leaves the candy soft and sticky, while boiling too long makes it hard and brittle. Checking for a soft ball in cold water helps you reach the right concentration.
“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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