Why it works: Lemon and orange match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,634 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Lemon Ice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the base
Scald 1 quart cream and let cool.
Mix the grated yellow rind of 3 lemons with !) ounces of sugar, and the juice of 2 lemons and 1 orange, and let stand in a cool place for 1 hour.
Freeze
Partly freeze the cream, stir in the fruit, and finish freezing.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
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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Lemon + orangetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,634 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Cream + orangetop 28% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,170 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Cream + lemontop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,640 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Cream and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,640 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, creamy texture as its fat coats the ice crystals.
- Lemons
- Add acidity and bright aroma from the juice and grated rind.
- Sugar (in the method)
- Adds sweetness and softens the frozen texture so it scoops more easily.
The step that matters
Partly freeze the cream before stirring in the fruit. Adding the acidic fruit mixture to a partly frozen base spreads it evenly and limits large ice crystals. Stirring it into fully liquid cream can thin the mixture and make the texture grainy once frozen.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, orange):
- Vanillafits about as well
- Strawberryfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
- Raspberryfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, orange. 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.
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