Name: Lemonade, Nourishing
Ingredients: 2 fresh lemons; 3 or 4 lumps of sugar; 5 ounces loaf sugar; 1 pint boiling water; ¼ pint lemon juice; ¼ pint sherry; 4 eggs

Why it works: Lemon and sherry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,273 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓

Lemonade, Nourishing

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the sugar

Rub the yellow rind of the lemons on the sugar lumps.
Place the sugar in a jug and add the loaf sugar.

Make the drink

Pour the boiling water over the sugars and let it cool.
Strain the liquid and stir in the lemon juice, sherry, and beaten eggs.
Mix thoroughly and serve.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Lemon + sherrytop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,273 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together44,316 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar + sherrytop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together4,141 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

Lemons: Their rind adds aromatic oils, and their juice adds sourness that balances the sugar.
Loaf sugar: Dissolves into the water to sweeten the drink.
Eggs: Beaten eggs add body and a richer, creamier texture to the drink.
Sherry: Adds alcohol and wine flavour that complements the lemon.