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 Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the lemon custard
Simmer the lemon peel in boiling water for 15 minutes.
Add sugar and boil for 2 minutes, then strain the mixture.
Stir in the beaten eggs and lemon juice, and cook over low heat until thickened, about 20 minutes.
Set and chill
Soak the gelatine in 2 teaspoons of cold water until soft.
Once the cream mixture is nearly cold, dissolve the gelatine in the mixture.
Pour the cream into a mould and refrigerate overnight.
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).
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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).
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
- Thicken the mixture as they cook and give the cream its rich body.
- Gelatine
- Sets the cooled cream so it holds its shape when unmoulded.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cream and balances the sharpness of the lemon juice.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity and bright lemon flavour to the cream.
The step that matters
Cook the eggs over low heat until thickened. Egg proteins set as they heat, so cooking gently and stirring keeps the custard smooth; high heat can curdle the eggs into lumps.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
- Datesfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg. 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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