Why it works: Apple and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Apple Tart
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Prepare the pie crust and place it in a pie dish.
Peel and slice the apples, then arrange them in the crust.
Sprinkle sugar over the apples to taste.
Bake
Bake for 30 to 45 minutes until the apples are tender and the crust is golden.
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 + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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
- Provide the main filling, softening as they bake to become tender and moist.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the apple slices caramelize slightly at the edges.
- Pie crust
- Forms the structure that holds the filling and browns to a golden color in the oven.
The step that matters
Bake until the apples are tender. Apples need enough heat and time to soften fully, and the crust needs to brown. Underbaked slices stay firm and can release excess moisture, while overbaking dries the edges.
“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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