Why it works: Sugar and syrup match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,842 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
White Molasses Candy
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the syrup
Combine the refined sugar, sugar-house syrup, and molasses in a large pot.
Boil the mixture until it hardens.
Add the baking soda and mix well.
Finish
Work the candy in the usual manner until it reaches the desired consistency.
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 + syruptop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,842 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Syrup + molassestop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together272 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 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
- Refined sugar
- Provides the main sweetness and the solid structure once the mixture hardens.
- Sugar-house syrup
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps keep the candy from turning grainy.
- Molasses
- Adds deep flavor and color, and its acidity reacts with the baking soda.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in molasses to release gas that lightens the candy's texture.
The step that matters
Add the baking soda and mix well. Baking soda reacts quickly with the acid in molasses and releases gas that makes the candy lighter. If it is not mixed in thoroughly, the texture will be uneven and the candy may be dense in some places.
“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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