Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Lemon Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the filling
Grate the rind of the lemon and peel and grate the inside, removing the seeds.
In a bowl, combine the lemon, sugar, flour or cornstarch, and butter.
Beat the two eggs until light, then add the milk and mix with the lemon mixture.
Bake and top
Pour the filling into a pie crust and bake at 350°F (175°C) until set.
Whip the reserved egg white with 2 teaspoons of sugar and spread on top of the pie.
Brown the meringue under the broiler for a few minutes.
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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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Lemon + milktop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Eggs
- Bind the filling and help it set into a firm, sliceable custard when baked.
- Flour or cornstarch
- Thickens the filling so it sets smoothly rather than runny.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and balances the sharpness of the lemon.
- Lemon
- Provides the tart flavor and aroma; its rind adds fragrant oils.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and richness, softening the custard's texture.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth, tender mouthfeel in the filling.
The step that matters
Baking the filling until set. Eggs and starch must be heated enough to thicken and set the custard, but overbaking can make it weep or turn rubbery. Watch for the center to just firm up.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, flour, egg, milk, butter):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, egg, milk, butter. 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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