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 ↓
73 Egg Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Dissolve the gelatine in the cold water and let it sit for 1 hour.
In a saucepan, combine the gelatine mixture with lemon peel and sugar, and heat until it simmers.
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and gradually add the saucepan mixture, along with the lemon juice while pouring.
Strain the mixture through a muslin cloth into a mold.
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
- Gelatine
- Sets the liquid into a firm, wobbly jelly as it cools.
- Egg yolks
- Add richness and body, thickening the mixture and giving it a custard-like softness.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the jelly and balances the sharpness of the lemon.
- Lemon
- Adds aroma and acidity that brightens the sweet, rich base.
The step that matters
Adding the saucepan mixture to the egg yolks. Pouring hot liquid into yolks too quickly can scramble them. Adding it gradually while whisking tempers the yolks so they blend smoothly and thicken without curdling.
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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