Why it works: Apple and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,551 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Apple Tarts
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the apple filling
Pare, quarter, core, and boil the apples in ½ cup of water until soft.
Beat the apples until smooth.
Add egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon rind, butter, and sugar to the apples and mix thoroughly.
Bake and finish
Line patty pans with puff pastry and fill with the apple mixture.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 5 minutes.
Beat the egg whites and mix with 3 tablespoons of sugar to make meringue.
Cover the tarts with meringue and return to the oven to brown delicately.
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.
-
Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,551 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tart apples
- Cook down to a soft, smooth base that forms the body of the filling.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the apple mixture as they set, giving it a rich, custard-like body.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, tender texture to the filling.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps the meringue hold its structure and brown.
- Egg whites
- Whipped with sugar, they form the meringue topping that browns in the oven.
The step that matters
Returning the meringue-topped tarts to the oven. Meringue can weep, shrink, or brown too quickly if overbaked. Watch closely so it only turns lightly golden while the filling stays set.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, lemon, butter, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Orangefits better
- Raspberryfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, lemon, butter, sugar. 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.
More apple tarts recipes
You might also like
Apple Pudding256 recipes
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 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.