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 ↓
Syrup of Lemons
Ingredients
Directions
Make the syrup
In a saucepan, combine sugar and water. Heat until the sugar dissolves.
Add the juice and rind of lemons while simmering, adjusting to taste.
Skim off any foam that forms on the surface.
Strain and bottle
Strain the syrup to remove solids.
Bottle and cork the syrup. It is best used fresh.
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).
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
- Sugar
- Provides sweetness and body, and helps the syrup stay smooth and stable.
- Lemon juice and rind
- Adds acidity and bright citrus aroma that balance the sweetness.
The step that matters
Heat until the sugar dissolves. Sugar crystals left undissolved can later recrystallize in the syrup, leaving it grainy. Heating fully dissolves the sugar into a clear, evenly sweet liquid before the lemon is added.
“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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