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 ↓
Flax Seed Tea
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the flax seed
Put the flax seed into a bowl half full of cold water, stir, and pour off what floats on top.
Pour the flax seed into a tin strainer.
Make the tea
Peel the yellow skin of the lemon thinly and place it in a pitcher.
Add the sugar to the pitcher and stir.
Squeeze the lemon juice into the pitcher.
Add the washed flax seed and boiling water, stirring occasionally.
Cover the pitcher with a folded napkin and let it cool 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).
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
- Whole flax seed
- Provides the main body and mucilage that gives the tea its slightly thick, soothing texture.
- Lemon
- Adds acidity and aroma; the peel contributes fragrant oils and the juice brightens the flavor.
- White granulated sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the lemon's tartness.
The step that matters
Pour off what floats on top. Light, dusty or hollow seeds and debris float while sound seeds sink. Removing them first keeps the tea clean-tasting and free of bitter or dusty notes.
“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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