Why it works: Lemon and corn 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 Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Make the filling
Boil sugar and water until dissolved.
Add lemon juice, grated rind, beaten eggs, and corn starch mixed with a little cold water.
Cook until thickened, being careful not to scorch.
Assemble and bake
Pour mixture into the pre-baked pie crust.
Return to the oven and bake until firm.
Beat the reserved egg white until stiff, then add 1 tablespoon sugar.
Spread meringue over the top and bake for a few minutes until lightly browned.
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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Lemon + corntop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,927 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + corntop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,168 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
- Thicken the filling as they set and add richness to the custard.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the lemon filling so it holds a clean, sliceable set.
- Lemon
- Provides the sharp acidity and aroma that define the filling.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps stabilise the meringue.
The step that matters
Cook until thickened, being careful not to scorch. Starch thickens only when heated enough, but the egg-thickened base can curdle or scorch if overheated on the bottom of the pan. Stirring steadily over gentle heat keeps the filling smooth and evenly set.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, corn, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits about as well
- Raisinfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, 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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