Why it works: Lemon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,318 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Apple Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the apples
If using small green apples, stew them whole with skins on until soft.
Strain the stewed apples and sweeten them.
Pare, quarter, and core larger apples.
Stew the larger apples with just enough water to prevent burning.
Sweeten the apples to taste when soft.
Assemble and bake
Line pie plates with a thin crust.
Fill the lined plates with the sweetened apples.
Cover the apples with a thick crust.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 to 40 minutes.
Season and serve
Carefully remove the upper crust.
Add a small piece of butter to each pie.
Sweeten further if needed.
Add lemon juice to taste.
Add lemon peel to taste.
Add nutmeg to taste.
Add rose-water to taste.
Replace the crust 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 + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Apple + nutmegtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,790 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Lemon + rosetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,174 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,551 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Nutmeg + rosetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,067 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Green apples
- Provide the bulk of the filling, softening when stewed and setting the texture of the pie.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and balances the tartness of the green apples.
- Pie crust
- Forms the lining and top that enclose the filling and brown in the oven.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the apple flavor and balances sweetness.
The step that matters
Stewing the larger apples with only enough water. Too much water dilutes the filling and makes the pie runny, while too little lets the apples scorch on the pan. Stewing gently until soft lets the apples cook through before baking.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, lemon, nutmeg, rose):
- Orangefits better
- Limefits better
- Vanillafits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, lemon, nutmeg, rose. 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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