Name: Meringues with Pistachios
Ingredients: Egg whites; Granulated sugar; Pistachios, chopped; Coarse sugar; Preserves or crème plombière (flavored with pistachios or other flavors)

Why it works: Egg and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Meringues with Pistachios

Oven, in the book's wordsA gentle oven

Ingredients

Egg whites
Granulated sugar
Pistachios, chopped
Coarse sugar
Preserves or crème plombière (flavored with pistachios or other flavors)

Directions

The book says “a gentle oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.

Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gradually add granulated sugar.
On parchment paper, pipe meringue into desired shapes.
Sprinkle chopped pistachios on top and dust with coarse sugar.
Bake in the oven until lightly colored, about 30-40 minutes.
Remove from oven and gently press the centers down with a small spoon.
Let cool completely, then fill with preserves or flavored crème just before serving.

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.

Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar + pistachiotop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,233 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Egg + pistachiotop 29% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together822 recipes

Shared aroma: nonanal (fat, citrus).