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Dessert

Lemon Jelly

A gelatin dessert made from lemon rind, sugar, water, milk, and eggs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Hamilton, Ohio. First Methodist Episcopal church. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,053 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Lemon Jelly

Ingredients

Directions

Make the base

  1. Soak one box of gelatine in one pint of cold water until dissolved; grate the rind of three large lemons into it.

  2. Add 3 cups of clear white sugar.

  3. Pour 3 pints of boiling water (or two quarts) over the mixture and strain; if not clear, strain again. Do not cook. (If oranges are used, add one lemon.)

Add the rest

  1. Add 1 cup sugar and a teaspoon of cornstarch.

  2. Add 1 quart milk and vanilla to taste.

  3. Add 1 cup grape nuts.

  4. Beat 4 eggs. Add each ingredient separately.

Bake

  1. Bake in custard cups.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

288Calories
15 gProtein
13 gFat
29 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Waternot in our table0

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

By Hamilton, Ohio. First Methodist Episcopal church. [from old catalog]. 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. See the original page.

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.

  1. Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,053 recipes

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

  2. Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together53,532 recipes

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

  3. Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together88,785 recipes

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

  4. Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together77,875 recipes

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

  5. Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together44,316 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

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

Gelatine
Sets the liquid into a firm, sliceable jelly as it cools.
Lemons
Add bright acidity and fragrant citrus aroma from the rind and juice.
Eggs
Help the milky mixture set into a custard with a tender structure.
Milk
Adds richness and a soft, creamy texture to the set dessert.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and balances the tartness of the lemons.

The step that matters

Dissolve the gelatine fully before setting. Gelatine only sets properly when it is completely dissolved. Straining the mixture removes undissolved bits, and not cooking it keeps the gelatine's setting strength and a clear texture.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk, egg):

  1. Vanillafits better
  2. Figfits about as well
  3. Raisinfits about as well
  4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, milk, 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.

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