Why it works: Lemon and sugar 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 ↓
Lemon Syrup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the acids
Dissolve tartaric and citric acids in 1 pint of boiling water overnight.
Make the syrup
Grate the rinds of the lemons and squeeze out the juice.
Combine the lemon juice, grated rinds, and sugar in a bowl.
Pour 5 pints of boiling water over the mixture and add the dissolved acids.
Let the mixture stand for 24 hours, then strain and bottle.
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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Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Lemon and sugar 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
- Lemons
- Provide the juice and rind that supply the main lemon aroma and sour flavour.
- Granulated sugar
- Provides sweetness and body, and helps preserve the syrup.
- Tartaric acid
- Adds tartness and sharpness to balance the sugar.
- Citric acid
- Adds sourness that brightens the lemon flavour.
The step that matters
Dissolving the acids in boiling water. Tartaric and citric acids are crystalline solids that dissolve fully only in hot water. Dissolving them fully before adding them to the mixture gives an even sourness throughout the syrup rather than gritty pockets.
“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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