Why it works: Milk and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,053 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Cornstarch Meringue
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
Heat the milk in a saucepan until it boils.
Dissolve the cornstarch in a little cold milk, then add it to the boiling milk.
Stir constantly for 15 minutes while boiling.
Remove from heat and gradually add the beaten egg yolks mixed with sugar and flavoring.
Pour the mixture into a well-buttered pudding dish and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 15 minutes or until it begins to set.
Make the meringue and finish
Whip the egg whites until stiff, then mix in the jelly.
Spread the meringue evenly over the custard, ensuring it doesn't extend beyond the edge of the dish.
Cover and bake for 5 minutes, then uncover and lightly brown the meringue.
Sift powdered sugar thickly over the top.
Let cool before serving.
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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Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + curranttop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together5,475 recipes
Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 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
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the milk into a smooth custard as it boils.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the custard and help it set with richness and body.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into stiff foam that forms the light meringue topping.
- Milk
- Forms the base of the custard that thickens and sets.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps stabilize the whipped egg whites.
- Jelly
- Adds fruity sweetness and acidity to the meringue layer.
The step that matters
Stir constantly while the custard boils. Cornstarch settles and scorches on the bottom of the pan if not stirred, and it needs to boil to reach full thickening power. Constant stirring keeps it smooth and evenly thickened.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, egg, sugar, lemon):
- Vanillafits better
- Orangefits better
- Figfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, egg, sugar, lemon. 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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