Why it works: Lemon and mint are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,998 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Mint Punch
Ingredients
Directions
In a large bowl, combine the sugar and lemon juice, then add the sliced lemons and mix well.
Just before serving, add the mint and pounded ice.
Pour in the ginger ale from a height to mix well.
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 + minttop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,998 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Lemon + gingertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,154 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Mint + gingertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together647 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Sugar + gingertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together14,054 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and ginger barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 14,054 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
- Sugar
- Dissolves into the lemon juice to sweeten the punch and balance its acidity.
- Lemon juice
- Provides the sharp acidity that gives the punch its bright flavour.
- Ginger ale
- Adds carbonation and a light spiced sweetness, lifting the punch when poured in.
- Mint
- Contributes a fresh aroma that scents the punch as it sits.
The step that matters
Pour in the ginger ale from a height. Pouring from a height mixes the carbonated ginger ale in without stirring it vigorously, which helps keep more of its fizz. Adding it just before serving also limits how much carbonation is lost.
Swap the mint
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, lemon, ginger):
- Cardamomfits better
- Cinnamonfits better
- Turmericfits better
- Mintthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, lemon, ginger. 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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