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 ↓
Lemon Gelatine
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the gelatine
Soak the gelatine in water for 15 minutes.
Place the gelatine in a saucepan over hot water until dissolved.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Make and set the dessert
Beat the mixture with an egg beater until stiff.
Sweeten to taste and add lemon juice.
Pour into a mold and refrigerate until set.
Serve with custard.
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
- Gelatine
- Sets the liquid into a firm, wobbly structure as it cools in the refrigerator.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that gives the dessert its bright, sharp flavour.
The step that matters
Beat the mixture until stiff. Beating cooled gelatine mixture incorporates air and thickens it as it begins to set. If it has warmed or set too far, it will not beat evenly, and if it is still too liquid, it will not hold its shape.
“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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