Why it works: Sugar and egg 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 ↓
Meringues
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.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Line patty pans with puff paste.
Make the meringue
Whisk the egg whites to a strong froth.
Gently mix the sugar with the whisked egg whites.
Add your chosen essence for flavor.
Fill and bake
Fill with preserved fruit and cover with the meringue mixture.
Bake until lightly browned, about 10-15 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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Sugar + eggtop 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
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a foam that gives the meringue its airy structure and set.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the meringue and stabilizes the whipped foam as it dissolves into it.
- Puff paste
- Forms a crisp pastry shell that holds the filling and meringue.
- Preserved fruit
- Adds sweetness and moisture to the filling beneath the meringue.
The step that matters
Gently mix the sugar with the whisked egg whites. Folding sugar in gently keeps the foam from collapsing. Overmixing deflates the air bubbles, so the meringue bakes flatter and denser instead of light and crisp.
“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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