Why it works: Lemon and borage match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 102 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Cool Cup
Ingredients
Directions
Rasp the sugar on the lemon to remove the yellow.
Combine the rasped sugar with the strained lemon juice, grated nutmeg, and other ingredients.
Chill the bowl on ice or in a refrigerator before serving.
Do not add ice to the mixture.
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 + boragetop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together102 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Nutmeg + boragetop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together76 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Cider + sherrytop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together143 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl pentanoate (yeast, fruit).
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Sherry + boragetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together50 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methylbutyraldehyde (malty, chocolate).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the drink and takes up lemon oil when rasped against the lemon peel.
- Lemon
- Adds acidity and aroma; its juice brightens the sweetness of the sugar.
- Cider
- Forms the liquid base and adds mild fruity flavour and moisture.
- Sherry
- Adds body and a dry, fortified wine flavour to the drink.
The step that matters
Do not add ice to the mixture. Ice melts into the drink and dilutes its flavour, so the bowl is chilled beforehand instead to keep the cup strong and cold.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, cider, sherry, nutmeg, borage):
- Lemonthe original
- Vanillafits about as well
- Pineapplefits about as well
- Orangefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, cider, sherry, nutmeg, borage. 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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