Why it works: Lemon and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Meringue Pie
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.
Make the filling
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a saucepan, combine the egg yolks, lemon juice, ½ cup sugar, water, and cornstarch.
Cook over medium heat, stirring until thickened.
Pour the mixture into flat pie plates and bake until set.
Make the meringue and finish
In a bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, then gradually add the remaining ¼ cup sugar.
Spread the meringue over the baked pie filling.
Return to the oven and bake until the meringue is golden brown.
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 + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the filling and add richness and a custard-like texture.
- Egg whites
- Whip into stiff foam that forms the light, airy meringue topping.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pie and helps stabilise the whipped egg whites.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that balances the sweetness and brightens the filling.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the filling as it heats so it sets firm when cooled.
The step that matters
Cooking the filling until thickened. Cornstarch only thickens fully once the mixture reaches a boil and is stirred, so undercooked filling stays runny and may not set after baking.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
- Datesfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, 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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