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
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the custard
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and milk. Season with coarse sea salt.
Pour the custard mixture into the pie crust and bake in the hot oven for 10 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and continue baking until the custard is set.
Make the meringue and finish
While the custard bakes, beat the egg whites until frothy. Gradually add sugar and mix until soft peaks form.
Spread the meringue over the baked custard and return to the oven to brown slightly.
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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Milk + sugartop 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).
Milk and sugar 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard and enrich it, setting into a smooth, sliceable texture when baked.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base that the egg proteins set into a custard.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a foam that forms the light, airy meringue topping.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the meringue and stabilises the whipped egg white foam.
The step that matters
Baking the custard until just set. Egg proteins set at moderate heat, and overbaking makes the custard curdle, weep or turn rubbery. Remove it once the centre barely wobbles, as it keeps setting as it cools.
“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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