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Dessert

Smith College Fudges

A chocolate fudge made with sugar, molasses, milk, butter, vanilla, and chocolate squares.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Smith College Fudges

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the fudge

  1. Combine sugar, molasses, milk, and butter in a saucepan.

  2. Cook until it boils.

  3. Add finely chopped chocolate and cook until it reaches a string consistency, stirring constantly.

  4. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.

  5. Stir in vanilla.

Set and cut

  1. Pour into a well-greased pan and cut into squares once set.

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. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together10,020 recipes

    Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).

  3. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
Sweetness, and its crystallization gives fudge its structure as it cools.
Butter
Adds fat for a smooth, tender texture and rich flavor.
Milk or cream
Provides moisture and creaminess, dissolving the sugar into a smooth base.
Molasses
Adds moisture, deeper flavor, and color, and softens the crystal structure.
Chocolate
Contributes chocolate flavor and extra fat for a richer, smoother texture.

The step that matters

Cooking to string consistency. The sugar concentration at this point sets the fudge's firmness. Stopping too early leaves it soft and runny, while cooking too long makes it hard and grainy as sugar recrystallizes.

“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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