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 ↓
Snow Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the snow
Dissolve the gelatine in boiling water.
Mix in sugar and lemon juice, then set aside to cool.
Beat the egg whites to a stiff froth.
When the gelatine mixture begins to thicken, fold in the beaten egg whites.
Pour the mixture into a mold and refrigerate until set.
Serve
Serve with rich boiled custard flavored with lemon.
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).
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Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 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
- Gelatine
- Sets the liquid mixture into a firm, sliceable pudding.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a stiff foam that gives the pudding its light, airy texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and balances the sharpness of the lemon.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity and bright flavor to the pudding.
- Rich boiled custard
- Provides a creamy, rich sauce that contrasts with the light pudding.
The step that matters
Fold the beaten egg whites into the thickened gelatine. The gelatine must be thick enough to hold the foam but not set. If it is too thin, the whites deflate; if it is too firm, they will not blend evenly and lumps form.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
- Datesfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg. 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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