Why it works: Egg and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Custard Tartlets
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 six deep tartlet pans with short-crust pastry.
Make the custard
Beat the whole egg in a bowl. Add the milk and sweeten to taste.
Fill the tartlet pans with the custard mixture.
Bake until set, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Top and serve
Whisk the egg white until stiff and sweeten it. Lightly pile the meringue on top of the tartlets.
Return the tartlets to the oven until the meringue hardens and colors slightly.
Serve cold.
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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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Whole egg
- Sets the custard and gives it structure as it bakes.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base of the custard and adds richness and softness.
- Egg white
- Whisked into a stiff foam to form the meringue topping.
The step that matters
Bake until set. Egg proteins coagulate as the custard heats, so underbaking leaves it runny while overbaking can make it weep and turn grainy.
“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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