Why it works: Sugar and gelatin are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,778 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Lemon Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Heat lemon juice and half the sugar in a double boiler.
Add egg yolks and the remaining sugar, cooking until thick.
Set and serve
Stir in softened gelatin and beaten egg whites.
Pour mixture into a mold and refrigerate until set.
Serve with whipped cream.
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 + gelatintop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,778 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Lemon + gelatintop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,215 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-pinene (pine, resin).
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
- Eggs
- Yolks thicken the custard as they cook, and beaten whites lighten the set pudding.
- Gelatin
- Sets the pudding into a firm, sliceable body as it chills.
- Lemon juice
- Provides the tart flavour and acidity that defines the pudding.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and balances the lemon's tartness.
The step that matters
Cooking the yolk mixture until thick. Egg yolks thicken through gentle heat, but too much heat makes them scramble. A double boiler keeps the temperature low and steady, so the custard thickens smoothly.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, gelatin):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, gelatin. 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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