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 ↓
Butter Scotch
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
In a saucepan, combine sugar, vinegar, molasses, and baking soda.
Boil the mixture, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
Once the syrup snaps when tested in cold water, remove from heat.
Set and cut
Flavor to taste, then pour the mixture one inch thick onto buttered tins.
Cut into squares with a sharp knife while still warm.
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 + molassestop 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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Vinegar + buttertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,513 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
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Vinegar + molassestop 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
- Sugar
- Provides sweetness and, once boiled, forms the hard brittle candy structure.
- Molasses
- Adds depth, dark color and a deeper sweetness to the candy.
- Vinegar
- Adds a little acidity that helps keep the sugar from crystallizing.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the syrup, lightening its texture slightly.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, and keeps the tins from sticking when greased.
The step that matters
Removing the syrup from heat at the right point. Sugar syrup must reach the hard-crack stage to set brittle. Removing it too early leaves a sticky, soft candy, while overcooking it causes bitterness and burning.
“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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