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
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the custard
Combine lemon rind, lemon juice, egg yolks, sugar, water, and corn starch in a saucepan.
Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened like custard.
Pour the custard into a pre-baked pie crust.
Top and bake
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and spread over the top of the pie.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) until the meringue is 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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Lemon + sugartop 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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Egg + sugartop 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).
Lemon and sugar 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard and add richness and color to the filling.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the lemon filling as it heats, giving it a sliceable body.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into stiff peaks to form a light meringue topping that browns in the oven.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and balances the sharpness of the lemon.
- Lemon juice
- Provides the acidity and bright flavor that define the pie.
The step that matters
Cook the custard until thickened, stirring constantly. Corn starch thickens only when heated, and the egg yolks can scramble if the mixture overheats or stops being stirred. Constant stirring keeps the filling smooth and evenly thickened before it goes into the crust.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, corn):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits about as well
- Raisinfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, corn. 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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