Why it works: Lemon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,318 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Apple Charlotte
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.
Cook the apples
Peel and core the apples.
Boil them in a small amount of water until soft.
Mash the apples.
Mix in the melted butter, sugar, lemon rind, nutmeg, and beaten eggs.
Assemble and bake
Butter a plain mold generously.
Cut the stale bread into very thin slices.
Line the bottom of the mold with a piece of bread.
Place slices around the sides tightly.
Pour the apple mixture into the mold.
Bake for 1 hour at 350°F (175°C).
Serve
Once baked, turn it out onto a dish.
Sift powdered sugar over it.
Serve with warm custard.
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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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Apple + nutmegtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,790 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together22,662 recipes
Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).
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Apple + breadtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,790 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Apples
- Provide the main body and moisture, and sweetness once softened and mashed.
- Eggs
- Bind the apple mixture and set when baked, giving it a firm, sliceable texture.
- Stale bread
- Forms the outer shell that holds the shape of the charlotte as it bakes.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat and richness, contributing to a tender texture and mouthfeel.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown during baking.
The step that matters
Place slices around the sides tightly. Bread slices that are tightly fitted leave no gaps for the wet apple mixture to escape or soak unevenly, so the mold keeps a clean shape when turned out.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, lemon, nutmeg, egg, bread):
- Figfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Orangefits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, lemon, nutmeg, egg, bread. 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.
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