Name: Plum Custard Tartlets
Ingredients: 1 pint greengage plums, sieved; 1 large cup sugar; 2 large eggs

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 ↓

Plum Custard Tartlets

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

1 pint greengage plums, sieved
1 large cup sugar
2 large eggs

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.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Whisk the sieved plums, sugar, and beaten egg yolks together until light and foamy.
Fill small puff pastry shells with the plum mixture.
Beat the egg whites until stiff, then add 2 tablespoons powdered sugar and spread over the plum filling.
Bake the filled shells in the oven for a few moments until lightly browned.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Plum + sugartop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,313 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Plum + eggtop 30% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together794 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).