Why it works: Nutmeg and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,318 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Apple 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.
Prepare the apples
Boil the apples until thoroughly done, then strain through a colander.
Add sugar and nutmeg or cinnamon to taste.
Place the apples in a dish.
Make the meringue and bake
Beat the egg whites to a stiff froth, then stir in 1 cup of sugar and the lemon juice.
Cover the apples with the meringue mixture.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) until light brown.
Serve cold, with or without sauce.
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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Nutmeg + lemontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Apple + nutmegtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,790 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,551 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Nutmeg + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together24,744 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Nutmeg and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 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
- Apples
- Form the soft base of the dish, providing moisture and bulk under the topping.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a stiff foam that sets in the oven to form the light meringue topping.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the apples and the meringue, and helps the meringue stay glossy and stable.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the apple flavour and helps stabilise the whipped egg whites.
The step that matters
Beating the egg whites to a stiff froth. Egg whites must be whipped until they hold stiff peaks, since their trapped air is what makes the meringue light. Any trace of fat or yolk can stop them whipping properly, and under-whipped whites will weep or sink when baked.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, nutmeg, egg, lemon):
- Orangefits better
- Limefits better
- Raisinfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, nutmeg, egg, 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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