Why it works: Milk and corn are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,955 recipes. Both carry hexanal, which smells green, grassy. The science ↓
Lemon Meringue Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the crust
Place a thin layer of puff pastry in the pie pan and bake well.
Make the lemon filling
Grate the lemons.
Mix the lemon juice with sugar, corn starch, and eggs.
Put the mixture on the fire.
While boiling, add the milk.
Stir constantly and very rapidly until thick.
Fill the pastry with lemon cream made from one quart milk, half pound sugar, quarter pound corn starch, six eggs, and four lemons.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
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.
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Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Corn + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,168 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Eggs
- Egg proteins thicken the custard as they set with heat, giving it body.
- Corn starch
- Starch swells in hot liquid and thickens the filling into a smooth, sliceable cream.
- Milk
- Milk supplies the liquid base and richness of the lemon cream.
- Lemons (in the method)
- Lemon juice and zest add the sharp acidity and aroma that define the filling.
- Sugar
- Sugar sweetens the filling and balances the sourness of the lemon.
The step that matters
Stir constantly and very rapidly until thick. Egg and starch mixtures can scorch on the bottom or curdle if left unstirred over heat. Constant stirring keeps heat even and lets the starch thicken smoothly before the eggs overcook.
“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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