Why it works: Sugar and cocoa work together. They rank in the top 27% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 956 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Cocoa-nut Ice Tablet
Ingredients
Directions
Make the first layer
Combine the sugar and cold water in a large brass or copper pan, then stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture boils.
Let the mixture boil until it reaches a candy stage, then move it to the side.
Mix three-fourths of the grated cocoa-nut with its milk into the sugar mixture and stir until it begins to candy.
Grease a sheet of paper and place it on a flat surface, then pour the candy mixture onto the paper and let it set.
Once set, turn the candy over, remove the paper, and cut into squares or break into pieces.
Make the second layer
For a second layer, repeat the process with 2 cups of sugar, 1 cup of cold water, and the remaining grated cocoa-nut, adding cochineal for color.
Pour the second mixture over the first layer once it has set, allow to cool, then cut into strips.
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 + cocoatop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together956 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Loaf sugar
- Dissolves and boils down to a candy that sets firm as the tablet's base.
- Grated cocoa-nut
- Adds flavour and body to the candy, with its milk giving moisture and richness.
- Cold water
- Dissolves the sugar so it can boil evenly before reaching candy stage.
The step that matters
Boiling to candy stage. Sugar syrup must reach the right concentration before it is removed from heat. Too little boiling leaves the candy soft and sticky, while overboiling makes it hard and brittle, so the set depends on the timing.
“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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