Why it works: Potato and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,230 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Sauce for Noodle Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Combine four egg yolks, four ounces of sugar, a quarter cup of sherry, one teaspoonful of potato flour, half a cup of water, the rind of half a lemon, and the juice of one lemon.
Beat quickly over hot water until the sauce thickens.
Serve at once.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Potato | 1 medium (173g) baked | 161 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Wine | 2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml) | 25 |
| 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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Potato + lemontop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,230 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Potato + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,355 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + lemontop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together30,404 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the sauce as they gently heat and set, giving it a rich, creamy body.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the acidity of the lemon and sherry.
- Potato flour
- Helps thicken the sauce and stabilise it so it holds its body.
- Sherry
- Adds a fragrant, wine-based flavour that deepens the sauce.
- Lemon
- Adds acidity and bright aroma that cut through the sweetness and richness.
The step that matters
Beat over hot water until the sauce thickens. Egg yolks thicken gently as they warm, but too much heat scrambles them into lumps. Constant beating and gentle heat keep the sauce smooth.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, flour, sherry, egg, lemon):
- Arrowrootfits better
- Shallotfits better
- Leekfits better
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, sherry, egg, lemon. 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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