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 Tarts
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the filling
Peel, quarter, core, and boil the apples in ½ cup of water until soft.
Beat the apples until smooth, then mix in the egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon rind, butter, and sugar.
Assemble and bake
Line patty pans with puff pastry and fill with the apple mixture.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 5 minutes.
Top and brown
For meringue, beat the egg whites and mix with 3 tablespoons of sugar.
Cover the tarts with meringue and return to the oven to brown 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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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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Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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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
- Tart apples
- Cooked and beaten into a smooth base that gives the filling its body and flavour.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the apple filling and help it set as it bakes, giving a custard-like texture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a tender texture to the filling.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and, in the meringue, stabilises the beaten egg whites.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into the meringue, they form a light topping that browns in the oven.
- Lemon juice and rind
- Add acidity and aroma that brighten the sweet apple filling.
The step that matters
Returning the tarts to the oven to brown the meringue. Meringue can weep, collapse or brown unevenly if it is overbaked or left too long. Watch it closely so it turns lightly golden while the filling stays set.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, lemon, butter, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Orangefits better
- Raspberryfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, lemon, butter, 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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