Name: Lemon Cream
Ingredients: 1 ounce tartaric acid; 1 pound white sugar; 4 egg whites; 1 lemon, cut up; 1 quart boiling water; cold water, to fill; soda, to taste

Why it works: Sugar and lemon 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 Cream

Ingredients

Directions

Make the mixture

In a bowl, combine tartaric acid, sugar, egg whites, and cut lemon.
Stir in boiling water until well mixed.

Serve

In a glass, add 3 to 4 tablespoons of the mixture.
Fill the glass with cold water and add a little soda before drinking.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together53,532 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together44,316 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

Sugar and lemon 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

Tartaric acid: Provides the sharp, sour bite that gives the drink its lemon-like tang.
White sugar: Adds sweetness to balance the acidity of the tartaric acid and lemon.
Egg whites: Adds body and a frothy texture to the mixture.
Lemon: Contributes citrus aroma and flavour to the mixture.