Why it works: Sugar and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Peppermint Drops
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the paste
In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar and egg whites.
Add 120 drops of oil of peppermint and mix well.
Drop and dry
Using a knife, drop small amounts onto sugared paper.
Gently dry the drops over a low heat or in a 300°F (150°C) oven.
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 + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + pepperminttop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,082 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Egg + pepperminttop 35% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together850 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Fine powdered sugar
- Forms the bulk of the drops and provides sweetness, while setting firm as it dries.
- Egg whites
- Bind the sugar into a stiff paste that holds its shape when dropped.
- Oil of peppermint
- Supplies the minty aroma and flavor that defines the candy.
The step that matters
Gently dry the drops over low heat. Low, gentle heat dries the surface so the drops set firm without melting, browning or cracking. High heat can scorch the sugar or make the candy sticky and uneven.
Swap the peppermint
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerfits better
- Peppermintthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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