Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Lemon Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the filling
In a saucepan, bring milk and cornstarch to a boil.
Remove from heat, add honey, and let cool slightly.
Pour the mixture over the egg yolks or soaked dried egg yolk.
Add the grated rind and juice of the lemon and the butter.
Pour the filling into the partially baked pie crust.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until set.
Top and finish
If using fresh eggs, prepare a meringue with the egg whites and 2 tablespoons sugar for each white.
Spread the meringue over the pie.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) until set and browned.
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 + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Milk + honeytop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,336 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).
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Honey + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,327 recipes
Shared aroma: anethole (sweet, anise).
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Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Milk
- Forms the body of the filling and sets with the egg yolks into a creamy custard.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the filling as they set, giving it structure and a rich texture.
- Honey
- Adds sweetness and moisture to the filling.
- Lemon
- Provides acidity and aroma from the zest and juice.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the milk mixture so the filling holds its shape when cut.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smoother, richer texture in the filling.
The step that matters
Adding the hot milk mixture to the egg yolks. Pouring hot liquid onto yolks too quickly can scramble them. Adding the hot mixture gradually while whisking helps the yolks warm evenly and thicken smoothly.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, egg, honey, butter, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Peachfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, egg, honey, butter, sugar. 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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