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 ↓
Lemonade, Nourishing, for Fever Patients
Ingredients
Directions
Rub the arrow-root with a little cold water in a bowl or pitcher that holds about 1 quart.
Squeeze in the juice of half a lemon and add the sugar.
Pour in boiling water to fill the dish, stirring constantly while adding the water.
Cover the dish and let it cool 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 + 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
- Arrow-root
- Thickens the liquid into a light, smooth body as it is heated with water.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the sweet flavour of the drink.
- White sugar
- Adds sweetness that balances the sharpness of the lemon juice.
The step that matters
Stirring while adding the boiling water. Arrow-root starch clumps quickly when it meets hot water, so stirring constantly while pouring keeps the mixture smooth and evenly thickened.
“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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