Why it works: Sugar and lemon 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 ↓
Strawberry Sherbet
Ingredients
Directions
Make the base
Crush the strawberries and strain through muslin over the granulated sugar.
Set in a cold place, stirring occasionally until the sugar melts.
Finish and chill
Add the cold water, lemon juice, and maraschino.
Cover and set on ice for at least 1 hour before serving.
Serve
Just before serving, add a handful of capped strawberries to float in each glass.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and lemon 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
- Strawberries
- Provide the main flavour and colour, and their juice forms the body of the sherbet.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the mixture and, as it dissolves, helps keep the sherbet smooth and scoopable.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the strawberry flavour and balances the sweetness.
- Maraschino
- Adds a subtle aromatic cherry-almond note to the strawberry flavour.
The step that matters
Let the sugar fully dissolve in the strawberry juice. Sugar that has not dissolved leaves a gritty texture and uneven sweetness. Stirring gently in a cold place lets the sugar dissolve slowly without the fruit fermenting or losing its fresh flavour.
“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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