Why it works: Sugar and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 77,875 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Marshmallow Fudge
Ingredients
Directions
Boil the brown sugar and milk together until it reaches a soft ball stage.
Remove from heat and beat in the marshmallows until smooth.
Optional: Add nuts if desired.
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 + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Light brown sugar
- Provides sweetness and caramel flavour, and its sugar structure sets the fudge as it cools.
- Milk
- Dissolves the sugar and adds moisture and richness to the fudge base.
- Marshmallows
- Add sweetness and a smooth, soft texture when melted into the hot sugar mixture.
The step that matters
Boil to the soft ball stage. The sugar must reach the soft ball stage, a specific syrup concentration. Too little cooking leaves the fudge soft and runny, while too much makes it hard and grainy as it cools.
“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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