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 Ice
Ingredients
Directions
Make the lemonade
Juice the lemons and combine with water and sugar to create a sweet lemonade.
Partly freeze the mixture.
Add the egg whites
Beat the egg whites until stiff.
Fold the beaten egg whites into the partially frozen mixture.
Finish freezing the mixture.
Serve
Pack the mixture with ice until ready to serve.
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.
-
Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 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 defines the flavor and balances the sugar.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the lemonade and lowers the freezing point, keeping the ice soft rather than rock hard.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to foam, they add airy lightness and a smooth, fluffy texture to the frozen mixture.
The step that matters
Fold the beaten egg whites into the partially frozen mixture. Folding gently keeps the air in the whipped whites. Stirring hard or adding the whites to a fully frozen mixture deflates the foam and leaves the texture dense and icy.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
- Datesfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg. 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.
More lemon ice recipes
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipes
Lemon Custard64 recipes
Lemon Water Ice55 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.