Why it works: Lemon and rum are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,341 recipes. Both carry alpha-pinene, which smells pine, turpentine. The science ↓
Roman Punch
Ingredients
Directions
Make the punch base
Make 2 quarts of lemonade using fresh lemon juice.
Add 1 tablespoon of lemon extract and mix well.
Freeze the mixture.
Finish and serve
Just before serving, add 1 pint of cognac and ½ pint of Jamaica rum and mix well.
Serve in high glasses.
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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Lemon + rumtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,341 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Lemonade
- Provides the main liquid and sweet-tart citrus base of the punch.
- Lemon extract
- Adds concentrated lemon aroma to strengthen the citrus flavour.
- Cognac
- Adds warm, aromatic spirit flavour and alcohol to the punch.
- Jamaica rum
- Adds rich, molasses-like depth and more spirit character to the punch.
The step that matters
Adding the spirits just before serving. Alcohol lowers the freezing point, so spirits added to a mixture that is already frozen or added too early can change its texture and strength. Adding them just before serving keeps the punch's intended consistency and flavour balance.
“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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