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 ↓
Sugar Candy
Ingredients
Directions
Make the candy
Combine sugar, water, and vinegar in a pot.
Boil the mixture until it hardens when tested in cold water.
Set and shape
Pour the hot mixture onto a buttered plate to cool.
Once cooled, pull and cut into small pieces.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Vinegar + buttertop 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
- Provides sweetness and forms the crystal-free glassy structure as the mixture cooks and hardens.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that helps prevent the sugar from crystallising, keeping the candy smooth.
The step that matters
Boil until it hardens in cold water. Sugar candy sets according to how far the syrup has cooked, which controls the water left in it. Cooking too little leaves it sticky and soft, while cooking too long makes it brittle or burnt. Testing a drop in cold water shows when it has reached the right stage.
“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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