Why it works: Lemon and corn are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,927 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Lemon Pie with Corn-starch
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a very quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the filling
Wet the cornstarch in a little water.
Bring the remaining water to a boil in a saucepan.
Stir the wet cornstarch into the boiling water.
Boil the mixture for 1 minute until thickened.
Add the butter.
Set the mixture aside to cool.
Assemble and bake
Line a pie plate with pie crust.
Once cooled, add lemon juice, grated lemon rind, and sugar to the mixture.
Beat the mixture well.
Pour the mixture into the crust.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for about 20 minutes.
Top and serve
Spread the beaten egg white, sweetened with 2 teaspoons of sugar and flavored with a little lemon extract, over the top of the pie. Brown the meringue.
Serve the pie cold.
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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Lemon + corntop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,927 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Butter + corntop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Butter + sugartop 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
- Cornstarch (in the method)
- Thickens the filling as its starch swells and sets when boiled with water.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smoother, silkier mouthfeel to the filling.
- Lemon
- Provides the sharp acidity and bright aroma that define the filling.
- Egg white
- Whipped into a foam that sets and browns to form the meringue topping.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and balances the lemon's acidity, and also sweetens the meringue.
The step that matters
Boil the cornstarch mixture for a full minute. Cornstarch only thickens fully once it reaches a boil and its granules swell. Stopping early leaves a thin filling and a raw, starchy taste.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, corn, egg, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Figfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, corn, egg, sugar. 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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