Why it works: Sugar and peanut are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 27% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,545 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Peanut Brittle
Ingredients
Directions
Make the brittle
Melt the sugar gradually in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Once the sugar is thoroughly melted, add the heated peanuts and a pinch of baking soda.
Remove from heat immediately and pour the mixture onto a marble surface or greased pans, spreading it as thin as possible.
Set and cool
Let it stand until cold and hardened.
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 + peanuttop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,545 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Granulated sugar
- Melts to form the caramel that becomes the brittle's crisp, glassy structure.
- Shelled peanuts
- Provide the nutty body and crunch that sits within the hardened caramel.
- Baking soda
- Releases gas into the hot caramel, lightening its texture and making it easier to bite.
The step that matters
Remove from heat immediately and spread thinly. Hot sugar keeps cooking and can darken or turn bitter if left in the pan. Spreading it thin while still fluid lets it cool quickly into an even, brittle sheet rather than a thick, chewy slab.
“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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