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Dessert

Apple Meringue Pies

A pie of grated apples topped with meringue.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Almond and raisin are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,781 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓

Apple Meringue Pies

Oven, in the book's wordsA quick oven

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.

Prepare the filling

  1. Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).

  2. Line a deep pie plate with a rich pie crust.

  3. Grate the apples and mix in the lemon peel and sugar to taste.

  4. If desired, add pounded almonds and cleaned raisins or currants.

  5. Beat the egg yolks and stir them into the apple mixture.

  6. Fill the crust with the apple mixture and bake until set.

Make the meringue and finish

  1. For the meringue, beat the egg whites until stiff, then gradually add the powdered sugar and cream of tartar.

  2. Flavor the meringue with rose water or vanilla.

  3. Spread the meringue over the baked pie and return to the oven until lightly browned.

  4. Serve cold.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Almond + raisintop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,781 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

  2. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  3. Lemon + almondtop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,655 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  4. Almond + rosetop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,465 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

  5. Apple + raisintop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,920 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Apples
Provide the bulk and tart fruit flavor of the filling, holding the pie's body together.
Egg yolks
Enrich the apple filling and help it set into a tender custard-like texture when baked.
Egg whites
Whipped to form the light foam of the meringue, which gives the topping its volume and crisp, browned surface.
Powdered sugar
Dissolves readily into the whipped whites, sweetening the meringue and stabilizing its foam.
Cream of tartar
Acidifies the egg whites, helping the meringue foam stay stable and resist collapsing.

The step that matters

Beating the meringue until stiff. Egg whites must be whipped to stiff peaks with sugar added gradually so the foam holds its shape and does not weep or collapse when spread and baked. Any grease in the bowl or yolk in the whites will prevent proper whipping.

“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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