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 syrup
Combine sugar, vinegar, and water in a saucepan.
Boil rapidly without stirring until the mixture crisps when dropped into cold water.
Finish the candy
Remove from heat and stir in butter and dissolved baking soda.
Pull the candy until it turns white.
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
- Forms the sweet base of the candy, and its concentration sets the final firmness.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that helps keep the sugar from crystallizing into a grainy texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat that softens the candy and gives it a richer mouthfeel.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid to release gas, lightening the candy and making it paler.
The step that matters
Boil without stirring until it crisps in cold water. Sugar concentration rises as the syrup boils, and that sets the final hardness. Stirring can trigger sugar crystals, which make the candy grainy, so the test drop in cold water is needed to judge when it is done.
“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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