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Dessert

Soft Butterscotch

A caramel-like confection made from sugar, glucose, molasses, butter, nutmeg, and water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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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 ↓

Soft Butterscotch

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 245°F (118°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Make the syrup

  1. Combine sugar, glucose, and water in a saucepan over medium heat.

  2. Stir until the mixture begins to boil.

  3. Wipe down the sides of the pan.

  4. Boil until the temperature reaches 245°F (118°C).

Finish the butterscotch

  1. Add molasses, butter, and nutmeg, stirring constantly.

  2. Continue cooking until the temperature reaches 260°F (127°C).

  3. Test by dropping a small amount into cold water.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together24,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  3. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Sugar + nutmegtop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together23,364 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

  5. Molasses + nutmegtop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,850 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Sugar and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 23,364 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Sugar
Provides the bulk of the sweetness and sets firm as the mixture cools.
Glucose
Inhibits crystallisation, keeping the butterscotch smooth and soft rather than grainy.
Butter
Adds fat for a rich mouthfeel and a softer, creamier texture.
Molasses
Adds dark colour, depth of flavour, and extra moisture to the candy.

The step that matters

Wipe down the sides of the pan. Sugar crystals clinging to the pan walls can seed crystallisation in the boiling syrup, making the butterscotch grainy. Washing them down keeps the candy smooth.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, molasses):

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Gingerfits about as well
  3. Nutmegthe original
  4. Clovefits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, molasses. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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