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 ↓
A Gooseberry Tart
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
Line a tart pan with tart-paste.
Assemble the tart
Add the bottled gooseberries and sprinkle with moist sugar.
Cover with more tart-paste.
Beat the egg white and brush it over the tart.
Sift sugar over the top.
Bake
Bake in the oven until golden brown.
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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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
- Bottled gooseberries
- Provide the tart filling and its fruity, tangy flavour.
- Tart-paste
- Forms the pastry base and top crust that enclose the filling.
- Moist sugar
- Sweetens the gooseberries and softens their sharp acidity.
- Egg white
- Brushed on top, it helps the surface brown and turn golden in the oven.
The step that matters
Brushing the egg white over the tart. A thin, even coat of beaten egg white gives the top a glossy, golden colour when baked. Too much can pool and make the surface sticky.
“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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