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 ↓
Slippery-elm Tea
Ingredients
Directions
In a tumbler, combine the powdered slippery-elm and cold water, then stir well until the slippery-elm is dissolved.
Add lemon and sugar to taste, mix again, and serve.
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).
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
- Powdered slippery-elm
- Thickens the water into a smooth, slippery, gel-like drink as its mucilage hydrates.
- Lemon
- Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the sweetness.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the lemon and the earthy taste of the slippery elm.
The step that matters
Stirring the slippery-elm into the water. Powdered slippery elm clumps when it meets water, and the outer layer of each clump hydrates first and traps the dry powder inside. Stirring thoroughly separates the particles so they hydrate evenly and the drink stays smooth rather than lumpy.
“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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