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 ↓
Water Eggs
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the sweetened water
Boil the sugar, lemon rind, and juice in ½ pint of water for 15 minutes.
Beat the eggs well and add the sweetened water.
Strain the mixture through a sieve into the serving dish.
Bake and serve
Place the dish in a larger dish filled with boiling water.
Bake in a moderately hot oven at 350°F (175°C) until set.
Serve hot or cold.
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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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
- Eggs
- Set into a delicate custard that holds the dish's soft, wobbly structure.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the water and balances the sharpness of the lemon.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity and a bright, fresh flavour to the sweetened water.
- Lemon rind
- Contributes aromatic oils that flavour the sweetened water.
The step that matters
Bake in a water bath. Setting the dish inside a larger dish of boiling water moderates the heat around the eggs. Egg proteins set gently rather than curdling or turning rubbery, giving a smooth, even custard.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
- Datesfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, 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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