Why it works: Nutmeg and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,623 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
To Make an Apple Tart
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the filling
Scald the apples and let them cool.
Peel the apples and mash the pulp with a spoon until fine.
Mix in the egg yolks and egg whites, beating until smooth.
Add grated nutmeg and sugar to taste.
Melt the butter and beat it until thick and creamy.
Assemble and bake
Make a puff pastry and line a tin petty pan with it.
Pour the apple mixture into the pastry but do not cover it.
Bake in a hot oven (400°F / 200°C) for 15 minutes.
Finish
Invert onto a dish and sprinkle with finely sifted sugar.
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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Nutmeg + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Apple + nutmegtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,790 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Apples
- Provide the bulk of the filling and its fruity moisture and flavor.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the filling and help it set into a custard when baked.
- Egg whites
- Add structure and lightness to the filling as it sets in the oven.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a creamy texture to the filling.
- Flour
- Forms the puff pastry that holds the filling and gives a crisp base.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to the filling and a finishing sugar coating on top.
The step that matters
Baking the uncovered filling. Egg proteins set as they heat, so the filling turns from liquid to custard. Too little time leaves it runny, while too much heat or time can make it dry or curdled.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, nutmeg, sugar, butter, flour):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Lemonfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, nutmeg, sugar, butter, flour. 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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