Why it works: Sugar and egg 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 ↓
Strawberry Pie
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 crust
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Place the pie crust in a plate and bake until nicely browned.
Remove the crust and fill it with fresh strawberries.
Sprinkle the strawberries with finely powdered sugar.
Top and bake
In a bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then mix in sugar to taste.
Spread the beaten egg whites over the entire pie.
Return the pie to the oven and bake until the egg whites are slightly 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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Sugar + eggtop 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
- Pie crust
- Forms the base that holds the filling and bakes to a firm, browned shell.
- Fresh strawberries
- Supply the fruit filling, providing flavor, moisture and natural sweetness.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into stiff peaks, they form a light topping that sets and browns in the oven.
- Finely powdered sugar
- Dissolves easily over the strawberries, adding sweetness and drawing out some juice.
The step that matters
Baking the egg white topping. Egg whites need to be beaten to stiff peaks so the foam holds its shape. Baking only until slightly browned sets the meringue without drying or collapsing it.
“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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