Name: Lemon Custard
Ingredients: juice of 4 lemons; 3 ounces powdered sugar; grated peel of 1 lemon; 2 ounces powdered sugar; 1 quart cream

Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Lemon Custard

Ingredients

Directions

In a deep dish, combine the juice of 4 lemons and 3 ounces of powdered sugar.
In a saucepan, boil the grated peel of 1 lemon and 2 ounces of powdered sugar in 1 quart of cream.
Pour the hot cream mixture over the lemon juice and sugar mixture.
Let it cool; it will keep for 4 days.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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.

Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Lemon + creamtop 30% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together15,640 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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

Cream: Provides richness and a smooth, thick body to the custard.
Lemon juice: Supplies sharp acidity that balances the sweetness and flavour of the cream.
Powdered sugar: Adds sweetness and dissolves easily into the cream and lemon juice.