Why it works: Milk and corn are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,955 recipes. Both carry hexanal, which smells green, grassy. The science ↓
Custard Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Heat the milk in a double boiler until boiling.
Roll out the pastry and line a deep pie plate.
Mix corn-starch with 2 tablespoons of milk.
Make the custard
Stir the corn-starch mixture into the scalding milk along with 1½ cups of sugar and ¼ teaspoon of salt.
Stir until slightly thickened, then pour over 4 well-beaten eggs.
Flavor to taste, pour into the pie crust, and bake in a moderate oven (350°F / 175°C) until the custard is set.
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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Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Corn + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,168 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Eggs
- Set the custard as they cook, giving the filling its structure and body.
- Corn-starch
- Thickens the hot milk so the custard holds its shape when sliced.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard and carries the flavor and richness.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and contributes to its tender texture.
The step that matters
Stir the custard until slightly thickened before adding the eggs. Starch thickens only when the milk is hot and stirred, and eggs added to very hot milk can curdle or scramble. Thickening first gives a smooth base that the eggs can join gently.
“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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