Name: Pple Cheesecakes
Ingredients: ½ lb apple pulp; ½ lb sifted sugar; ¼ lb butter; 4 eggs (reserve 2 egg whites); rind and juice of 1 lemon

Why it works: Apple and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,551 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓

Pple Cheesecakes

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

Core and boil enough apples to yield ½ lb of apple pulp.
Line some tart pans with puff pastry.

Make the filling

Add the sugar, melted butter, 2 whole eggs, reserved egg whites, and grated lemon rind and juice to the apple pulp.
Stir the mixture well.

Bake

Pour the mixture into the lined pans and bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 20 minutes.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,551 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together8,706 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,227 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked 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

Apple pulp: Provides the bulk and moist, fruity body of the filling.
Eggs: Set the filling into a custard-like texture as they cook and bind the mixture.
Butter: Adds richness and fat, giving a tender texture to the filling.
Sugar: Sweetens the filling and helps it brown lightly in the oven.
Lemon: Adds acidity and aroma that brighten the sweetness of the apples.