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 ↓
Meringue Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Combine one cup of sugar, yolks of 3 eggs, 1-1/2 cups of milk, 2 teaspoonfuls of corn starch, juice and grated peel of 1 lemon.
Beat the yolks lightly and add the sugar; rub the cornstarch into the milk, then add that mixture, followed by the lemon, and beat well together.
Line some pans with a rich paste, then fill with the custard, and bake.
Top and brown
When done, take the whites of 3 eggs and beat them with a tablespoonful of sugar to a stiff froth; spread over the top and brown in the oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 5 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 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
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.
-
Milk + corntop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
-
Corn + lemontop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,927 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Yolks thicken the custard, and whites whipped with sugar form the browned meringue topping.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps the meringue whip into a stable, glossy foam.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard that sets when heated.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the milk mixture so the custard sets firm rather than runny.
- Lemon
- Adds acidity and aroma that cut through the sweetness of the custard.
The step that matters
Beat the meringue to a stiff froth. Whites must be whipped until stiff so the foam holds its shape and browns evenly on top. Underwhipped meringue weeps or collapses in the oven, and overbaking can make it tough.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk, corn, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Figfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, milk, corn, 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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