Why it works: Lemon and corn are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,927 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Lemon Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “the quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the filling
Dissolve the corn-starch in cold water, then stir it into the boiling water.
Cream the butter with the sugar, then pour it over the hot corn-starch mixture.
When the mixture is cool, add the lemon juice and pulp, and the beaten egg.
Mince the inner rind of the lemon and add it to the mixture.
Bake and serve
Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven until set.
Beat the egg whites with the sugar until frothy, then spread over the pie and return to the oven until lightly browned.
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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Lemon + corntop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,927 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Butter + corntop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 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
- Corn-starch
- Thickens the hot water into a stable filling that sets when cooled.
- Lemon juice and pulp
- Provides the sharp acidity that defines the pie's flavour.
- Egg
- Adds structure and richness to the filling as it sets.
- Egg whites
- Whipped with sugar to form a light meringue topping that browns in the oven.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps stabilise the whipped egg white topping.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a rich texture and smooth mouthfeel in the filling.
The step that matters
Let the cornstarch mixture cool before adding the egg and lemon. Adding the egg and acidic lemon to a very hot starch mixture can scramble the egg and thin the starch. Cooling first lets the filling thicken and set smoothly in the oven.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, butter, corn):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Figfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, butter, corn. 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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