Why it works: Lemon and sherry are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,273 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
Lemon Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the infusion
Peel 3 lemons and pour ½ pint of boiling water over the rind.
Let the mixture infuse for 30 minutes.
Make the jelly
In a lined saucepan, combine the sugar, isinglass, lemon peel, and 1 pint of water.
Boil the mixture for 20 minutes.
Strain the lemon juice and the infusion of the rind into the saucepan.
Bring the mixture to a boil and skim well.
Add the sherry to the mixture.
Strain the mixture through a bag.
Set and serve
Pour the jelly into a mold that has been wetted or soaked in water.
Refrigerate the mold until the jelly is set.
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 + sherrytop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,273 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + sherrytop 22% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together4,141 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
- Supply the juice and peel that give the jelly its bright, sharp lemon flavour.
- Lump sugar
- Provides sweetness and helps give the jelly its body as it sets.
- Isinglass
- Gelatin-like protein that sets the liquid into a firm, sliceable jelly as it cools.
- Sherry
- Adds wine aroma and a little extra flavour depth to the finished jelly.
The step that matters
Skim the mixture well after it comes to a boil. Isinglass and sugar syrup throw off foam and fine impurities as they heat. Skimming removes these, so the jelly comes out clear rather than cloudy.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, sherry):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Pineapplefits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, sherry. 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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