Why it works: Lemon and tea work together. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 610 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Lemon Custard
Ingredients
Directions
Make the lemon water
Slice the lemons and put them in the water.
Let them boil until the strength is extracted, then remove them and strain the water.
Make the custard
Beat the yolks, butter, and sugar together, and pour the strained water over them.
Return to the fire and, when ready to boil, stir in the starch.
Beat the whites to a stiff froth and stir them in lightly after the custard is taken off the stove.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| 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.
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. See the original page.
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.
-
Lemon + teatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together610 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Tea + corntop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together89 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
-
Lemon + corntop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,927 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Butter + corntop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Yolks thicken the custard and whites, whipped and folded in, lighten its texture.
- Corn starch
- Starch swells when heated and thickens the liquid into a smooth custard.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and balances the sharpness of the lemon.
- Lemons
- Provide the main lemon flavour and acidity through the cooking water.
The step that matters
Stirring in the starch at the boil. Cornstarch must be heated to boiling to swell and thicken fully; stirring it in too early or undercooking it leaves the custard thin and pasty.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, tea, sugar, corn, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Lemonthe original
- Peachfits about as well
- Figfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, tea, sugar, corn, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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.
More lemon custard recipes
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipes
Corn Cake90 recipesThe 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.