Why it works: Lemon and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,227 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Lemon Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Make the crust
Bake the pie crust first.
Make the filling
Combine water, sugar, and lemon juice in a saucepan.
Bring the mixture to a boil.
Dissolve cornstarch in a little cold water.
Add the dissolved cornstarch to the boiling mixture.
Stir the mixture until thickened.
Remove the saucepan from heat.
Let the mixture cool.
Stir in butter.
Stir in beaten egg yolks.
Pour the mixture into the baked crust.
Return the pie to the oven until the eggs are fully cooked.
Make and bake the meringue
Beat the egg whites until frothy.
Add sugar to the beaten egg whites.
Beat the mixture until stiff peaks form.
Spread the meringue over the pie.
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.
-
Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Sugar and lemon 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
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the lemon mixture as it heats, giving the filling a sliceable body.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich and thicken the filling, adding richness and a smooth set when cooked.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into foam to form the meringue topping, providing light structure.
- Lemon juice
- Supplies the acidity that gives the filling its tart flavour.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps stabilise the whipped egg white meringue.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smoother, richer texture and mouthfeel in the filling.
The step that matters
Return the pie to the oven until the eggs are fully cooked. Egg yolks must reach a safe, set temperature to thicken the filling properly; underbaking leaves it runny, while overheating can make it weep or curdle.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Lemonthe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Figfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg. 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.
More lemon pie recipes
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipes
Lemon Custard64 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.