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 ↓
How to Make a Cordial for Colds
Ingredients
Directions
First, prepare a quart of the juice of black currants, by bruising and boiling them for twenty minutes, and then straining off the juice with great pressure through a sieve into a basin. Next, boil four ounces of linseed in a quart of water until reduced to one-third of its original quantity, taking care that it does not boil fast, and, when done, strain the liquid into a very clean saucepan; add the currant juice, two pounds of moist sugar, and half an ounce of citric acid, or one pint of lemon juice; boil all together until reduced to a thick syrup--that is, when it begins to run rather thick from the spoon without resembling treacle; as soon as the syrup has reached this stage, remove it from the fire, and pour it into a jug to become quite cold. This syrup will keep good for any length of time, if bottled and corked down tight, and kept in a cool place. A tea-spoonful taken occasionally will soon relieve the most troublesome cough.
This cordial may also be prepared in winter, using for the purpose black currant jam, or preserved black currant juice, instead of the juice of fresh-gathered currants.
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.
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
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