Why it works: Sugar and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and 53,532 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Wine Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Make the jelly
Dissolve 1 box gelatin in 1 quart boiling water.
Add 3 cups sugar and 1 pint sherry wine.
Add 1 cup cold water and a pinch of cinnamon.
Add rind of 1 lemon and juice of 2 lemons.
Strain and chill
Strain the mixture through a cloth.
Place the strained mixture in the freezer and pack it in ice for 2 hours.
Serve
Serve with whipped cream.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and lemon share little aroma chemistry, yet 53,532 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Gelatin
- Sets the liquid into a firm, sliceable jelly as it cools.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the tartness of the lemon and wine.
- Sherry wine (in the method)
- Gives the jelly its main flavour and aroma.
- Lemons
- Add acidity that brightens the sweet wine flavour.
The step that matters
Dissolve the gelatin fully in boiling water. Gelatin only sets properly when its granules dissolve completely in hot liquid. Undissolved granules leave gritty or weak spots, so stir until no particles remain before adding the other ingredients.
“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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