Why it works: Lemon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,318 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Apple Meringue
Ingredients
Directions
Make the apples
In a double boiler, heat the butter, granulated sugar, lemon juice, and nutmeg.
Add the quartered apples and cook until tender.
Transfer the apples to a glass dish.
Top and serve
Make meringue by beating the egg whites and gradually adding the powdered sugar.
Cover the apples with the meringue.
Serve the syrup separately.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Apple + nutmegtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,790 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,551 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together24,377 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Apples
- Provide the main body and tender texture of the dessert once cooked.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to form the light, airy meringue topping that covers the apples.
- White granulated sugar
- Sweetens the apples and forms the syrup that is served alongside.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat to the cooked apples and syrup.
- Powdered sugar
- Dissolves into the whipped egg whites to sweeten and stabilize the meringue.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the sweetness of the apples and sugar.
The step that matters
Gradually adding the powdered sugar to the egg whites. Sugar added slowly to whipped egg whites dissolves fully and helps stabilize the foam, while adding it too fast can cause the meringue to weep or stay loose.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, lemon, sugar, nutmeg, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Orangefits better
- Figfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, lemon, sugar, nutmeg, 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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