Why it works: Egg and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Custard Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Make the custard
Beat 4 eggs very light, saving the white of 1 for frosting if desired.
Add 4 tablespoons sugar, a pinch of salt, and flavor to taste.
Bring 1 quart milk to a boil.
Pour the hot milk onto the egg and sugar mixture, stirring continuously.
Bake and finish
Prepare a deep pie tin with a crust built up around the top.
Pour the mixture into the pie tin and bake carefully.
To check if the pie is done, insert a sharp knife into the middle; if it feels thick like jelly, remove it from the oven.
Beat the reserved egg white until very light and spread it over the top of the pie.
Brown the pie for a moment in the oven.
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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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Set the custard as they cook, giving it body and structure.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and adds softness to its texture.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard, providing moisture and creaminess.
The step that matters
Pour the hot milk onto the egg and sugar mixture, stirring continuously.. Adding hot milk gradually while stirring tempers the eggs, so they warm evenly without scrambling. Constant stirring keeps the proteins dispersed so the custard stays smooth.
“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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