Name: Gelatine Jelly
Ingredients: 1 small packet gelatine; 1½ cups boiling water; 1 teacup (about ⅔ cup) white sugar; a pinch of tartaric acid; whites of 3 eggs; lemon flavoring

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 ↓

Gelatine Jelly

Ingredients

Directions

Make the jelly

Pour boiling water over the gelatin and stir until dissolved.
Add sugar, tartaric acid, and beaten egg whites.
Flavor with lemon.

Set

Pour into a mold and let stand until the next day.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together44,316 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 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

Gelatine: Dissolved in hot water, it forms the gel network that sets the jelly firm.
Whites of eggs: Whipped whites trap air and add a light, foamy texture to the jelly.
White sugar: Adds sweetness and helps give the set jelly a clean, tender bite.
Tartaric acid: Adds a sharp acidity that balances the sweetness and brightens the flavor.