Why it works: Lemon and chocolate are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 33% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,096 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
Chocolate Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare a pie crust as you would for lemon pies.
Fill the crust with chocolate filling.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until the top is crisp and brown.
Cool slightly, then cover with meringue.
Bake the meringue in a 300°F (150°C) oven until puffed and lightly colored.
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 + chocolatetop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,096 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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