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 ↓
New Orleans Molasses Candy
Ingredients
Directions
Make the candy
Combine molasses, sugar, butter, and vinegar in a saucepan.
Boil without stirring until the mixture hardens when dropped into cold water.
Remove from heat, stir in baking soda, and beat well.
Add flavoring just before pouring if desired.
Set and cut
Pour into buttered pans and let cool.
Cut into sticks once cool.
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 + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Molasses
- Provides the dark color, rich flavor, and chewy body of the candy.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the mixture harden into a brittle candy when boiled.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic syrup to release gas, making the candy light and porous.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that works with the baking soda and helps prevent sugar crystallizing.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smoother texture and a tender bite.
The step that matters
Boil without stirring until the mixture hardens when dropped into cold water.. Sugar syrup must reach the correct concentration to set firm. Stirring can trigger sugar crystals, making the candy grainy, so the mixture is left undisturbed while it boils.
“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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