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 bowl, mix the egg yolks, lemon juice, ¾ cup sugar, water, and cornstarch.
Pour the mixture into flat pie plates and bake until set.
Make the meringue and finish
In another bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks.
Gradually add 8 tablespoons of sugar while continuing to beat until glossy.
Spread the meringue over the baked pie filling.
Return the pie 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 lemon filling as they set, giving it a rich, custard-like body.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the lemon filling so it sets firmly rather than running when cut.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a foam that forms the airy, stable meringue topping.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and, added to the whites, stabilizes the meringue and helps it turn glossy.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that balances the sweetness and gives the filling its tart flavor.
The step that matters
Beating the meringue to stiff peaks. Sugar must be added gradually while beating so the whites form a stable, glossy foam. Under-beaten or greasy whites will not hold peaks and can weep or collapse on the pie.
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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