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 ↓
Flax Seed Lemonade
Ingredients
Directions
In a pitcher, combine flax seed and sugar.
Pour boiling water over the mixture and steep on the back of the stove for 1 hour.
Strain the mixture, add lemon juice, and serve 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).
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
- Flax seed
- Its mucilage thickens the liquid, giving the lemonade a slightly viscous body.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the tartness of the lemon juice.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity and bright citrus flavour.
The step that matters
Steeping the flax seed. Flax seed releases its thickening mucilage slowly into hot water, so it needs the full steeping time. Straining too early leaves the drink thin and the seeds underdeveloped.
“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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