Why it works: Lemon and mint are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,998 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Claret-cup
Ingredients
Directions
Mix together the claret, brandy, lemon rind, mint, cucumber, and sugar in a large pitcher.
Add plenty of ice and pour in the seltzer water or soda.
Serve immediately.
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 + minttop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,998 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Mint + cucumbertop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together884 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Lemon + cucumbertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,067 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Brandy + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together11,939 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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
- Claret
- Provides the main wine body, colour and fruity flavour of the punch.
- Brandy
- Adds strength and a warming depth that balances the wine's acidity.
- Lemon rind
- Adds aromatic citrus oils that brighten the punch without adding much juice.
- Seltzer water or soda
- Adds carbonation, lightness and dilution to the chilled drink.
The step that matters
Adding the seltzer last. Carbonation escapes quickly from warm or agitated liquid, so the seltzer should go in just before serving over plenty of ice to keep the drink fizzy and cold.
Swap the cucumber
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (brandy, lemon, mint, sugar):
- Arrowrootfits about as well
- Cucumberthe original
- Shallotfits about as well
- Sweet potatofits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against brandy, lemon, mint, sugar. 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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