Name: Cocoanut Taffy or Stick Jaw
Ingredients: 6 lbs granulated sugar; 2 lbs glucose; 4 lbs brown sugar; 4 large coconuts, sliced; 5 pints water

Why it works: Sugar and coconut are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 22% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,742 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓

Cocoanut Taffy or Stick Jaw

Ingredients

Directions

The book gives no oven temperature. The 310°F (154°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.

Make the syrup

Combine the granulated sugar, glucose, and water in a large pot and boil until the temperature reaches 310°F (154°C).
Once the mixture reaches the correct temperature, raise the pot 2-3 inches from the heat.

Add coconut and set

Prepare the sliced coconuts and have them ready.
Gently stir in the coconut slices with a spatula to prevent them from sticking to the bottom.
Continue boiling until well mixed, then pour the mixture into tins or frames to 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.

Sugar + coconuttop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together5,742 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Granulated sugar: Provides the sweet body and, cooked to temperature, the firm set of the taffy.
Glucose: Inhibits sugar crystallisation, keeping the taffy smooth rather than grainy.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and a caramel aroma and colour to the taffy.
Sliced coconuts: Supplies the coconut flavour and chewy texture in the finished taffy.

The step that matters

Raising the pot off the heat at 310°F (154°C). Sugar syrup keeps darkening and climbing in temperature after it leaves the boil, so removing it from the heat at the target temperature prevents overcooking, which would make the taffy brittle or burnt.

“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.