Why it works: Flour and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and 92,116 recipes mention both. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
The Queen of Puddings
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 base
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, mix flour, 2 whole eggs, lemon juice, and lemon rind until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake until done.
Top and finish
Once baked, cover the top with a little jelly.
In a separate bowl, beat the whites of 2 eggs until stiff. Gradually add 1 cup of sugar and a little lemon juice to the egg whites.
Spread the meringue over the jelly and return to the oven just to brown slightly.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Flour + lemontop 17% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together30,404 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Flour and egg share little aroma chemistry, yet 106,462 recipes mention both: they likely 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
- Flour
- Provides structure so the mixture sets into a body rather than a loose liquid.
- Eggs
- Set the base as they cook and whipped whites give the meringue its airy structure.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the meringue and helps stabilise the whipped egg whites.
- Lemon
- Adds acidity and aroma that balance the sweetness of the base and meringue.
The step that matters
Beating the egg whites until stiff. Whites must be beaten to firm peaks without overbeating, since sugar added gradually stabilises the foam. Under-beaten whites will weep or collapse, and overbeaten ones turn grainy and dry.
Flavor stand-ins for the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, egg, sugar):
- Raisinbetter flavor fit
- Vanillabetter flavor fit
- Lemonthe original
- Figabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, egg, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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.
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipes
Lemon Custard64 recipesThe Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account for sign-in; Pro adds the full results and chemistry.