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 ↓
Lemonade
Ingredients
Directions
Rub some sugar lumps on the lemons to absorb the oil.
Combine the sugar with the lemon juice in a jug.
Pour the boiling water over the mixture.
Strain the lemonade through a fine sieve or muslin when the sugar is dissolved.
Let it cool before serving.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
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
- Lemon rind
- Carries aromatic lemon oils that add fragrance and flavour to the drink.
- Lemon juice
- Provides the sour acidity that balances the sweetness of the sugar.
- Loaf sugar
- Adds sweetness and, once dissolved, body to the drink.
- Boiling water
- Dissolves the sugar and carries the lemon flavours through the mixture.
The step that matters
Rubbing the sugar lumps on the lemons. Lemon oil sits in the rind, and sugar abrades it and absorbs the oil, so the flavour is captured in the sugar. Skipping this step leaves the lemonade tasting only of juice.
“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.
More lemonade recipes
You might also like
Lemon Whey33 recipes
Lemon Wine31 recipes
Lemon Squash10 recipes
Lemon Essence8 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.