Why it works: Sugar and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Lemon Ice
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the juice and rinds
Juice all six lemons and grate the rind of three lemons.
Juice one large sweet orange and grate its rind.
Squeeze out every drop of juice, and steep the lemon and orange rinds in one pint of water for one hour.
Strain and sweeten
Strain the mixture, squeezing the bag dry.
Mix in one pint of sugar and then the water.
Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Freeze
Freeze the mixture by turning it into a freezer, opening it three times to beat all together.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| 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.
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 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
- Lemons
- Supply the sharp acidity and the fragrant oils in the rind that flavour the ice.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and lowers the freezing point, keeping the ice softer.
- Water
- Forms the liquid base that freezes into the body of the ice and carries the flavour.
- Orange (in the method)
- Adds extra juice, sweetness and aroma that round out the lemon's sharpness.
The step that matters
Beating during freezing. Ice that freezes undisturbed forms large ice crystals and a coarse, icy texture. Opening the freezer to beat the mixture breaks up these crystals as they form, giving a smoother result.
“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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