Why it works: Spinach and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,109 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
Green Icing
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a cool oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the spinach juice
Wash the spinach leaves thoroughly and bruise them in a mortar until you can squeeze out the juice.
Make the icing
Whisk the egg white to a firm froth.
Gradually add the powdered sugar and lemon juice, along with enough spinach juice to color the icing.
Beat the mixture well for 30 minutes, adding more sugar if necessary.
Dry the icing
Spread the icing smoothly and dry it in a cool oven at 300°F (150°C).
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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Spinach + lemontop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,109 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Spinach + eggtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,323 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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
- Egg white
- Whipped to a firm foam, it gives the icing its light body and holds it together as it sets.
- Powdered sugar
- Adds sweetness and bulk, and stiffens the icing as it is beaten in.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the sweetness and helps keep the icing stable.
- Young spinach leaves
- Supply the green color and a mild vegetal flavor to the icing.
The step that matters
Beat the mixture well for 30 minutes. Long beating incorporates air and dissolves sugar into the egg white foam, giving a smooth, stable icing. Under-beating leaves it grainy and runny, so it may not set properly when dried.
Swap the spinach
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, lemon):
- Asparagusfits better
- Arrowrootfits better
- Sweet potatofits about as well
- Spinachthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, lemon. 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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