Why it works: Molasses and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Butter Scotch
Ingredients
Directions
Make the butterscotch
Combine molasses and sugar in a saucepan.
Boil the mixture until it snaps when dropped in cold water.
Add butter when nearly done and stir until melted.
Set and cut
Pour the mixture into buttered tins.
Once cool, cut into squares.
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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Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Molasses + buttertop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,123 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- New orleans molasses
- Provides the dark colour, deep flavour and moisture that give the candy its character.
- Brown or granulated sugar
- Dissolves and cooks into a hard, brittle sugar structure as the mixture boils.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smoother, richer texture and a rounder flavour.
The step that matters
Boil until it snaps in cold water. Sugar syrup hardens as its temperature rises and water evaporates. Stopping too early leaves a sticky candy, while overcooking makes it bitter and hard to cut.
“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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