Why it works: Corn and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,927 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Lemon Cream Pie Filling
Ingredients
Directions
Make the filling
Grate the rind and juice of one lemon, and mix with one tablespoon corn starch and one cup granulated sugar.
Add one cup of boiling water and let boil a few moments, stirring all the time; add one-half tablespoon butter just before removing from the fire.
When slightly cool, add the yolks of three eggs well beaten.
Top and brown
Pour into the paste which has been previously baked.
Beat the egg whites to a stiff froth, add a tablespoon of sugar, return to oven and brown.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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.
-
Corn + lemontop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,927 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Corn + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Corn starch
- Thickens the filling as it boils, giving it a smooth, sliceable body.
- Eggs
- Egg yolks enrich and set the filling, while beaten whites form the browned topping.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smoother mouthfeel to the cooked filling.
- Lemon
- Supplies the acidity and aroma that define the filling's flavor.
- Granulated sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps balance the lemon's tartness.
The step that matters
Cooking the filling while stirring constantly. Starch thickens only when it boils, and stirring keeps it from scorching or forming lumps. Adding the yolks after cooling prevents them from curdling in the hot mixture.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (corn, butter, sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Figfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against corn, butter, sugar, egg. 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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