Why it works: Apple and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,291 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Marlborough Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the filling
Grate the apples and combine them with sugar, melted butter, eggs, lemon juice, and lemon rind in a mixing bowl.
If using, add the brandy or wine to the mixture.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a pie dish and bake without a top crust for about 30-40 minutes or until 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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Apple + brandytop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,291 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,551 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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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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Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Butter + lemontop 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
- Eggs
- Set the filling into a soft custard-like structure as they cook.
- Apples
- Provide the bulk of the filling and fruity flavor, releasing moisture as they bake.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps browning on the surface of the pie.
- Melted butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving the filling a smoother texture.
- Lemon
- Adds acidity and bright aroma that balance the sweetness.
The step that matters
Bake until set. Eggs thicken as they heat, so the filling is ready when it firms at the centre. Underbaking leaves it runny; overbaking can make it curdle and turn rubbery.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apple, sugar, butter, egg, brandy):
- Vanillafits better
- Apricotfits better
- Pearfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against apple, sugar, butter, egg, brandy. 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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