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Dessert

Molasses Candy

Molasses candy is a sweet treat made from sugar, molasses, water, cream of tartar, and butter.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Molasses Candy

Ingredients

Directions

Make the syrup

  1. In a large pot, combine sugar, molasses, and water.

  2. Bring to a boil without stirring.

  3. Once boiling, add cream of tartar.

  4. Cook until the mixture reaches the desired consistency.

Finish and pull

  1. Before removing from heat, add butter.

  2. Do not butter your hands while pulling the candy.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  3. Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  5. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 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

Sugar
Forms the sweet base that sets into a firm, chewy candy as the syrup cooks down.
Molasses
Adds dark color, deep flavor, and a chewy, moist texture.
Cream of tartar
Adds acidity that helps prevent sugar crystals from forming, keeping the candy smooth.
Butter
Adds fat that softens the candy and gives it a richer, more tender bite.

The step that matters

Cook until the mixture reaches the desired consistency. Sugar syrup's texture depends on how far it cooks: stopping early leaves candy soft and sticky, while cooking too long makes it hard and brittle. Watch the syrup closely near the end.

“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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