Why it works: Egg and sugar 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 ↓
Tart Shells
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Shape the shells
Roll out the paste thinly and cut it with a glass or biscuit cutter.
Remove the centers of two out of three circles with a smaller cutter.
Place the rings on the third circle to form a wall around the shell.
Bake on a baking pan in a 400°F (200°C) oven.
Fill and brown
Once cooled, fill the shells with jelly.
Beat the egg whites to a stiff froth, then add the sugar and spread on top of the jelly.
Return the shells to the oven and brown the meringue delicately.
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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Egg + sugartop 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
- Plain or puff paste
- Forms the crisp, flaky shell that holds the filling.
- Jelly
- Provides the sweet, fruity filling under the meringue.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a foam that sets into a light, airy meringue topping.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the meringue and helps it stiffen and brown.
The step that matters
Browning the meringue delicately. Whipped egg white foam sets and browns quickly in the oven. Too much heat or time can scorch the top and make the meringue dry or weepy, so watch it closely while it colors.
“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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