Why it works: Egg and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Raspberry Meringue
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Fill the crust
Fill the baked pie crust with ripe raspberries.
Make the meringue
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gradually add sugar to the egg whites and continue beating until well combined.
Spread the meringue over the raspberries.
Bake and brown
Return to a 400°F (200°C) oven to brown the meringue.
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 + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a foam that sets into a light, airy meringue topping.
- Sugar
- Stabilizes the whipped egg whites and adds sweetness to the meringue.
- Ripe raspberries
- Provide tart fruit flavor and moisture beneath the meringue.
The step that matters
Beating the sugar into the egg whites. Sugar should be added gradually so the whites stay glossy and hold stiff peaks. Adding it too fast or under-beating can leave a weeping or grainy meringue that does not brown evenly.
“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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