Name: Black Pepper Syrup
Ingredients: 1 tsp ground black pepper; ¼ cup (60 ml ) water; ¼ cup (60 ml) granulated white sugar; 1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Why it works: Pepper and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,047 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓

Black Pepper Syrup

Ingredients

1 tsp ground black pepper
¼ cup (60 ml ) water
¼ cup (60 ml) granulated white sugar
1 tsp lemon juice (optional)

Directions

Combine pepper, water, sugar and lemon in a saucepan, and heat slowly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is a light-brown colour.
Remove from heat and let cool for 1 hour.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

67Calories

1 gProtein

0 gFat

18 gCarbs

Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 3 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Water	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

Pepper + lemontop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together27,047 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Pepper + sugartop 32% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together19,401 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Sugar and lemon 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

Granulated white sugar: Provides the sweetness and body of the syrup, and browns as it caramelises during heating.
Ground black pepper: Adds the aroma and sharp, warm bite that flavours the syrup.
Lemon juice: Adds acidity that brightens the sweetness and balances the pepper.

The step that matters

Heating until light brown. Sugar darkens quickly once it starts to caramelise, so it can pass from light brown to bitter and burnt within moments. Heating slowly and watching the colour helps you stop at the right point.

“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.

Lemon Whey33 recipes

Lemon Wine31 recipes

Lemon Squash10 recipes

Lemon Essence8 recipes

Like knowing why a recipe works?

The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.

Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.

Black Pepper Syrup