Why it works: Sugar and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Prune Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Soak the dried prunes in water overnight.
Drain the prunes and place them in a pie dish lined with pie crust.
Sprinkle the prunes with sugar and lemon juice.
If the prunes are hard, cook them briefly before adding to the pie.
Bake
Cover with a top crust and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 30 minutes.
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.
-
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 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
- Dried prunes
- Form the filling and provide the main fruit flavor and body.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps balance the tartness of the prunes.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the sweet, rich prune flavor.
- Pie crust
- Holds the filling and forms the baked shell and top.
The step that matters
Cooking hard prunes before filling. Soaking may not fully soften dried fruit, and prunes that stay firm will not become tender in the oven's short baking time. Brief cooking softens the fruit so the filling bakes evenly and has a smooth texture.
“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.
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipes
Lemon Custard64 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.