Why it works: Sugar and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Lemon Water Custard
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Mix 4 or 5 tablespoons lemon juice with water to make 1 cup.
Add ½ cup sugar, 2 whole eggs, 1 yolk, and a pinch of salt.
Beat eggs and sugar together.
Pour hot lemon juice over the mixture, stirring.
Cook the custard.
Strain the custard.
Serve
Turn the custard into dish or glasses.
Just before serving, drop sweetened beaten egg whites and dot with squares or diamonds of jelly.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 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.
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Whole eggs and yolk thicken the custard as they cook and give it a rich body.
- Lemon juice (in the method)
- Provides the acidity that gives the custard its bright, tart flavour.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and balances the sharpness of the lemon juice.
The step that matters
Cook the custard. Egg proteins set as the mixture heats, so it must be cooked gently and stirred. Overheating can curdle the eggs and leave the custard grainy, which is why straining afterwards helps smooth it.
“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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