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 ↓
Snow Pudding I
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the gelatine
Soak gelatin in cold water.
Dissolve gelatin in boiling water.
Add sugar and lemon juice.
Strain the mixture.
Set and whip
Set aside in a cool place.
Occasionally stir the mixture.
When quite thick, beat with a wire spoon or whisk until frothy.
Add egg whites beaten stiff.
Continue beating until stiff enough to hold its shape.
Serve
Mold or pile by spoonfuls on a glass dish.
Serve cold with boiled custard.
(Optional) Color half the mixture with fruit red.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| 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.
-
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 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
What each ingredient does
- Gelatine
- Sets the liquid into a soft, wobbly structure that holds the whipped foam.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a foam that gives the pudding its light, airy texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and balances the sharpness of the lemon juice.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and cuts the sweetness.
The step that matters
Beat until stiff enough to hold its shape. Egg whites must be whipped to stiff peaks before they are folded in, and the mixture must be thick but still pourable-to-spoonable when whipping starts. If the gelatine has already set firm, the foam will not blend evenly; if the whites are under-beaten, the pudding will collapse and lose its airy texture.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
- Datesfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, 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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