Why it works: Molasses and sugar 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 ↓
Butter Scotch
Ingredients
Directions
Make the candy
In a saucepan, combine molasses, sugar, and vinegar.
Cook until nearly done, then add the butter.
Boil until the mixture snaps when dropped in cold water.
Set and cut
Optionally, add any kind of nuts before pouring into the tins.
Pour into buttered tins and let cool slightly.
Cut into squares once cool enough.
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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Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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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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Butter + vinegartop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,513 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
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Molasses + vinegartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,253 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
- Molasses
- Provides the dark color and deep, slightly bitter sweetness of the candy.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and, as it cooks to a hard candy, helps the mixture set firm and brittle.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, tender texture to the candy.
- Vinegar
- Adds a little acidity that helps keep the sugar from crystallizing too much.
The step that matters
Boil until the mixture snaps when dropped in cold water. Sugar candy sets according to its final temperature. Stopping too early leaves it soft and sticky, while cooking too long makes it burnt and bitter. The cold-water test checks that it has reached the hard-crack 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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