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 ↓
Lemon Custard
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
In a bowl, whisk together egg yolks, milk, cornstarch, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon rind until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until thickened.
Top and bake
In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add 2 tablespoons of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
Pour the custard into a serving dish and top with the beaten egg whites.
Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) until the top is lightly browned.
Serve warm or chilled.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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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 + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard and add richness as they set with heat.
- Egg whites
- Whip into a stiff foam that gives the topping lift and a light, airy texture.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the custard when heated, giving it a smooth, sliceable body.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard and adds creaminess.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps stabilise the whipped egg whites.
The step that matters
Cooking the custard until thickened. Stirring constantly over medium heat keeps the egg yolks and milk from scorching or curdling, while cornstarch thickens as it heats. Stop once it coats a spoon, since overcooked egg yolks can turn grainy.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, milk, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits about as well
- Raisinfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, milk, 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.
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