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 ↓
Lemon Sponge
Ingredients
Directions
Soak the isinglass or gelatine in water.
Add the lemon rind, lemon juice, and loaf sugar, then simmer gently for 30 minutes.
Strain the mixture into a bowl and let it cool until it begins to thicken.
Stir in the beaten egg whites and whisk until the mixture has a sponge-like consistency.
Pour into a damp mold and turn out 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.
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 + sugartop 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).
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
- Isinglass or gelatine
- Sets the liquid so the mixture holds its shape when turned out.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into the mixture to give it a light, airy, sponge-like texture.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the dessert and balances the sharpness of the lemon.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity and bright lemon flavour.
The step that matters
Stir in the beaten egg whites and whisk until the mixture has a sponge-like consistency.. The mixture must be cool and only just thickened before the egg whites go in. If it is too warm or too set, the whites will not fold in evenly and the airy structure will be lost.
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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