Why it works: Sherry and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,209 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓
Lemon Pie
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.
Prepare the filling
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, mix 1 cup of sugar with the egg yolks.
In another bowl, mix 1 cup of sugar with the sherry.
In a third bowl, mix 1 cup of sugar with the lemon juice and zest.
In a fourth bowl, mix 1 cup of sugar with the softened butter.
Combine the yolk mixture with the butter and sugar mixture.
Add the sherry, lemon mixture, and remaining sugar, and mix well.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold them into the mixture.
Bake
Pour the filling into a prepared pie crust and bake until set.
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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Sherry + brandytop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,209 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Butter + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,505 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Butter + brandytop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,127 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
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).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Yolks thicken the filling and whites, beaten to stiff peaks, lighten its texture.
- Lemons
- Juice and zest provide the acidity and bright aroma that define the filling.
- Butter
- Adds fat and richness, giving the filling a smooth, tender texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps stabilise the egg yolks while mixing.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whites beaten to stiff peaks trap air that gives lift; overmixing after folding deflates them, leaving a denser filling.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, sugar, sherry, brandy):
- Vanillafits better
- Apricotfits better
- Figfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, sugar, sherry, brandy. 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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