Why it works: Apple and apricot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 777 recipes. Both carry gamma-undecalactone, which smells peach, sweet. The science ↓
Apples, a LA Portuguaise
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the base
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Prepare the marmalade with the apples and place it in a baked oval pie crust.
Leave a hollow in the center of the marmalade and fill it with pastry custard.
Spread apricot jam over the entire surface.
Make and bake the meringue
Whip the egg whites until firm, then mix in the sifted sugar to create meringue.
Cover the apples with a smooth layer of meringue, then use a piping bag to create a design.
Sprinkle sifted sugar over the meringue and bake until it turns a light‑fawn color.
Finish and serve
Before serving, fill the hollow with layers of red‑currant and apple jellies, and greengage or apricot jam.
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.
-
Apple + apricottop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together777 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-undecalactone (peach, sweet).
-
Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Apricot + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,630 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Apricot + eggtop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,712 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Apple and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes: they 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
- Apples
- Form the bulk of the filling, providing fruit flavor and a soft, moist texture.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to form a stable meringue that sets into a light, crisp topping.
- Sifted sugar
- Sweetens the meringue and, sprinkled on top, helps it brown to a light fawn color.
- Apricot jam
- Adds sweetness and fruit flavor over the filling and helps bind the layers.
- Pastry custard
- Fills the hollow in the marmalade, adding a rich, creamy, set texture.
The step that matters
Whipping and sugaring the meringue. Egg whites must be whipped until firm before the sugar is folded in, so the foam holds its structure and sets rather than weeping or collapsing in the oven.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apricot, egg, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Peachfits better
- Figfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against apricot, 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.
You might also like
Apple Pudding256 recipes
Apple Cake80 recipes
Apple Meringue75 recipes
Dried Apple Cake51 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.