Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Lemon Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the gelatine in some cold water for 10 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients except the saffron.
Make the jelly
Heat the mixture, stirring until it boils.
Color with a little saffron and strain through a scalded cloth.
Pour into a wetted mould and let it set in a cool place.
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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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Lemon + saffrontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together538 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Cinnamon + saffrontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together406 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Clove + saffrontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together455 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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.
- Loaf sugar
- Adds sweetness and body to the jelly.
- Lemons
- Provide acidity and the main citrus flavour.
The step that matters
Strain through a scalded cloth. Straining removes bits of lemon, spice and sediment so the jelly sets clear. Scalding the cloth keeps it clean so no residue or off-flavour passes into the liquid.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, cinnamon, clove, saffron):
- Vanillafits better
- Orangefits better
- Raisinfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, cinnamon, clove, saffron. 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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