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 ↓
Molasses Candy
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the molasses
In a six-quart kettle, combine molasses, brown sugar, and butter.
Boil over low heat, stirring often, until thick.
Test by dropping some into cold water; it should harden quickly.
Add soda and pour
Add baking soda and stir well.
Pour into well-buttered flat tins.
Pull and shape
When partly cooled, butter your hands and pull the candy until it turns whitish yellow.
Cut into strips and roll or twist as desired.
If flavoring is desired, add it on top as it cools.
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
- Molasses
- Provides the main sweetness, dark color, and moisture that give the candy its body.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the candy set firm as the sugars concentrate on cooking.
- Butter
- Adds fat that softens the texture and makes the candy easier to pull.
- Baking soda
- Releases gas into the hot syrup, lightening its texture and making it pull to a paler color.
The step that matters
Testing in cold water. Sugar syrup hardens as its water evaporates during boiling. If the test drop does not harden quickly, the syrup is undercooked and the candy will stay soft and sticky instead of setting firm.
“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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