Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Lemon Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard base
In an enamelled saucepan, combine the cream, lemon zest, and sugar.
Boil gently for 10 minutes, then strain the mixture.
Beat the egg yolks and add them to the strained mixture.
Place the basin with the mixture in a saucepan half full of boiling water.
Stir constantly without letting it boil until nearly cold.
Set and serve
Strain the lemon juice through a sieve and mix it with the cream.
Stir quickly and pour into an oiled mould.
Once cold, turn it out in the usual way.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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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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Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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
- Cream
- Provides richness and a smooth, creamy body once chilled.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the mixture as they gently cook, giving it a custard-like texture.
- Gelatine
- Sets the mixture so it holds its shape when turned out of the mould.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the cream and balances the sharpness of the lemon.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity and bright lemon flavour to the cream.
The step that matters
Stir constantly without letting it boil. Egg yolks scramble and turn grainy if they get too hot, so gentle heat over simmering water and constant stirring keeps the custard smooth while it thickens.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Strawberryfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, 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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