Why it works: Apple and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,551 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Apple Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cut the apples thin and line a deep pie plate with the bottom crust.
Assemble and bake
Layer the apples in the pie plate, sprinkling with brown sugar, mace or cinnamon, lemon peel, and butter.
Add another layer of apples and seasoning, then cover with the top crust.
Bake in the oven until the crust is golden.
Rest and serve
After baking, leave the pie in the oven with the door open for 15 minutes before serving.
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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Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,551 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Apple + macetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together865 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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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
- Apples
- Provide the bulk of the filling and tender fruit texture as they soften while baking.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and caramel-like flavor and helps draw moisture into the filling.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat that carries the spice flavors through the filling.
- Pie crust
- Forms the structure that holds the filling and browns to a golden finish.
The step that matters
Cut the apples thin. Thin slices cook through at the same rate as the crust browns, so the filling softens without leaving firm pieces or a soggy base.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apple, sugar, lemon, butter):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against apple, sugar, lemon, butter. 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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