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
Soak the gelatine in 1 pint of cold water until dissolved.
Grate the rind and juice of 3 large lemons.
Add 3 cups of clear white sugar.
Make the jelly
Pour over 3 pints of boiling water and strain.
If not clear, strain a second time.
Do not cook.
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, wobbly jelly as it cools.
- Lemons
- Provide the main flavour and sharp acidity, with the rind adding aroma.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the lemon's sharpness.
The step that matters
Pour over the boiling water and do not cook. Gelatine needs to be fully dissolved in hot water, but prolonged boiling can weaken its setting power. Keeping the mixture off the heat after this point helps the jelly set firmly and stay clear.
“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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