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 and add flavoring essence if desired.
Assemble and bake
Fill with preserved fruit and cover with the egg white and sugar mixture.
Bake for 10-15 minutes until lightly browned.
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
- Whisked into a foam that holds air, giving the meringue its light, airy structure.
- Loaf sugar
- Sweetens the topping and, dissolved into the foam, helps stabilise it and gives a crisp finish.
- Puff paste
- Forms the crisp pastry case that holds the fruit and topping.
- Preserved fruit
- Provides sweetness and fruity flavour beneath the meringue topping.
The step that matters
Gently mix the sugar into the whisked egg whites. Folding gently keeps the air bubbles in the foam. Overmixing or deflating the whites makes the topping dense and less able to puff and brown evenly in the oven.
“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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