Why it works: Lemon and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 19% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 44,316 recipes. Both carry (e,e)-2,4-decadienal, which smells fatty, deep fried. The science ↓
Lemon Snow
Ingredients
Directions
Make the lemon base
Soften the gelatine in cold water, then dissolve it in boiling water.
Add the lemon juice and saccharin, then strain the mixture and set aside to chill, stirring occasionally.
Whip and set
When the mixture is partly set, beat it until very light.
Add the beaten egg whites and continue beating until the mixture begins to stiffen.
Turn into a moistened mold and chill before serving.
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 + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Lemon and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 44,316 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 so the whipped mixture holds its light, airy shape.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to foam, they add volume and a light, airy texture.
- Lemon juice
- Adds the sharp lemon flavour that balances the sweetness.
The step that matters
Beating the mixture after it is partly set. The gelatine must be at the right stage of setting. If it is fully firm, the mixture will not whip; if it is too liquid, it will not hold air and the snow will collapse. Beat only when it is partly set and the egg whites are folded in before it stiffens.
“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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