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 ↓
Fruit Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Make the jelly
Break up the isinglass and boil it in 1 pint of water until dissolved.
Add 1 quart of boiling water and sweeten with white sugar to taste.
Add lemon juice and strain one-third of the mixture into a deep bowl.
Layer and set
Place the bowl on ice or in cold water to harden.
Once firm, sprinkle a layer of sweetened berries or fruit on top.
Add half of the remaining jelly, then another layer of fruit, and top with the rest of the jelly.
When cold, turn out onto a dish to serve.
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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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
What each ingredient does
- Russian gum isinglass
- Gelatinous setting agent that firms the liquid into a sliceable jelly as it cools.
- Berries or sweetened fruit
- Adds fresh fruit flavour, color and contrast to the clear jelly layers.
- Lemon
- Adds acidity that brightens the sweetness and sharpens the fruit flavour.
The step that matters
Strain one-third of the mixture and chill it until firm before adding fruit. Isinglass sets only as the liquid cools, so the first layer must be firm before fruit is added. If it is still liquid, the fruit sinks or the layers blend together.
“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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