Why it works: Lemon and sugar 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 ↓
Lemon Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the base
Combine gelatine, sliced lemons, and cold water in a bowl.
Let the mixture stand for 1 hour.
Make and set the jelly
Add white sugar and boiling water.
Stir until fully dissolved.
Pour the mixture into molds that have been lightly wet with cold water.
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.
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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Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Lemon and sugar 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 firm, sliceable jelly as it cools.
- White sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the sharpness of the lemon.
- Lemons
- Provide the main lemon flavour and acidity.
The step that matters
Stir until fully dissolved. Undissolved sugar or gelatine left in the liquid can leave grainy spots and an uneven set. Stirring until the mixture is completely clear helps the jelly set smooth and evenly.
“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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