Why it works: Lemon and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 30% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 15,640 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Strawberry Chartreuse
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the mould
Line the charlotte mould with lemon jelly flavored with liqueur.
Slice fine strawberries and cover the jelly with them.
If desired, add dried fruit of another color.
Make the cream filling
In a bowl, mix thick cream with gelatine, lemon jelly, and sweetened strawberries over ice.
Pour the cream mixture into the center of the mould when it begins to set.
Set and serve
Set the mould on ice and turn out when firm.
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 + creamtop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,640 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Lemon and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 15,640 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
- Thick cream
- Provides the rich, soft body of the filling once it is chilled and set.
- Gelatine
- Sets the cream mixture so it holds its shape when turned out.
- Lemon jelly
- Adds a set, tangy layer that lines the mould and flavors the filling.
- Strawberries
- Add fruity flavor and color to the layer and the cream filling.
The step that matters
Pour the cream mixture when it begins to set. Gelatine sets as it cools. If the cream is poured too early it can mix into the strawberry layer, and if too late it may not settle into the center smoothly.
“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.
You might also like
The 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.
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipes
Lemon Custard64 recipes