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 Syrup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the lemons
Combine the juice of 12 lemons and the grated rind of 6 lemons in a bowl and let it sit overnight.
Make the syrup
In a saucepan, combine 6 pounds of white sugar with water to make a thick syrup and heat until dissolved.
Once the syrup is cool, strain the lemon juice mixture into it.
Squeeze in oil from the grated rind to taste.
Bottle
Bottle the syrup and securely cork it for future use.
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 + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 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
- Lemon juice
- Provides the sharp acidity that balances the sweetness of the syrup.
- Lemon rind
- Adds aromatic oils that give the syrup its fragrance and flavour.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the syrup and, when heated, forms its thick body.
The step that matters
Heating the sugar syrup until dissolved. If the sugar is not fully dissolved before the syrup cools, crystals can form and gritty texture or crystallisation may follow. Heating with water until clear helps the sugar dissolve completely.
“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.
More lemon syrup recipes
You might also like
Lemon Whey33 recipes
Lemon Wine31 recipes
Lemon Squash10 recipes
Lemon Essence8 recipesThe 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.