Why it works: Apple and lemon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,551 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Apple Tarts
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the apple filling
Pare, quarter, core, and boil the apples in ½ cup of water until soft.
Beat the apples until smooth.
Add the egg yolks, lemon juice, lemon rind, butter, and sugar to the apples. Mix thoroughly.
Bake and top with meringue
Line patty pans with puff pastry and fill with the apple mixture.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 5 minutes.
Beat the egg whites until stiff. Gradually add 3 tablespoons of sugar to the egg whites.
Spread the meringue over the tarts.
Return the tarts to the oven to brown delicately.
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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Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,551 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Tart apples
- Cooked and beaten to a smooth purée that forms the bulk of the filling.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich and thicken the apple filling, giving it a custard-like body and richness.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth, tender texture to the filling.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps the meringue stay stable and brown.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a stiff meringue that sets and browns on top of the tarts.
- Lemon juice and rind
- Adds acidity and aroma that brighten the sweet apple filling.
The step that matters
Beating the egg whites until stiff. Whites must be whipped to stiff peaks before the sugar is added, so the foam holds its shape and bakes into a light, stable meringue rather than weeping or flattening.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, lemon, butter, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Orangefits better
- Raspberryfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, lemon, butter, sugar. 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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