Why it works: Mint and lemon 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 ↓
Mint Jelly Salad
Ingredients
Directions
Make the jelly
Chop the mint finely and simmer it in the water for 30 minutes.
Strain the mixture and add the juice of the lemons.
Soften the gelatine in a little cold water, then add it to the mixture and heat through.
Pour the mixture into a pan to harden and chill thoroughly.
Serve
Cut into cubes and serve with mayonnaise on lettuce leaves.
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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Mint + lemontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,998 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Mint + lettucetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together569 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Lemon + lettucetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,559 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-hexenal (green, leafy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Gelatine
- Sets the liquid into a firm jelly that holds its shape when cut.
- Mint
- Adds its aromatic, fresh flavour to the water it is simmered in.
- Lemons
- Add acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the sweetness of the jelly.
- Mayonnaise
- Adds richness and fat that contrasts with the sharp, cool jelly.
The step that matters
Softening the gelatine before adding it. Gelatine must be soaked in cold water so its granules hydrate evenly; added dry or lumpy, it will not dissolve smoothly and the jelly may set unevenly.
Swap the lettuce
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (mint, lemon):
- Cucumberfits better
- Kalefits better
- Spinachfits about as well
- Lettucethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against mint, lemon. 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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