Why it works: Apple and clove are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,774 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. 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 the apples
Peel and quarter the apples, removing the cores.
Place apples in a baking dish with lemon peel, cloves, sugar, and a little water.
Top and seal
Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface and cut it thinly.
Moisten the edges of the pastry with a feather and place it over the apples.
Press the edges to seal and trim any excess pastry.
Make shell marks around the edges with a spoon.
Glaze and bake
Whip the egg white and brush it over the pastry.
Sprinkle powdered sugar over the egg wash.
Lightly sprinkle water over the sugar to prevent burning.
Bake the tart on a tin until 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.
-
Apple + clovetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,774 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
Lemon + clovetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,150 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,551 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
-
Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 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
- Provide the bulk of the filling and soften as they bake, giving the tart its body.
- Puff pastry
- Forms a flaky, layered crust that puffs and turns golden in the oven.
- Egg white
- Brushed on as an egg wash, it helps the pastry brown and gives a glossy finish.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the apples and caramelises on the surface, adding browning and flavour.
The step that matters
Sealing the pastry edges. If the edges are not pressed firmly closed, steam from the apples can escape or push the pastry apart, so the crust may not rise evenly or may leak juices during baking.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apple, lemon, sugar, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Gingerfits better
- Clovethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against apple, lemon, sugar, egg. 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.
More apple tart recipes
You might also like
Apple Pudding256 recipes
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 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.