Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Custard Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the crust
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Line a deep pie plate with the pie crust.
Roll the crust thin.
Build up the edges.
Trim the edges neatly.
Bake until pale yellow.
Make the custard
Scald the milk over boiling water.
Beat the eggs.
Mix in the sugar and flavoring.
Pour the milk gently over the egg mixture.
Stir until the sugar dissolves.
Fill and bake
Pour the custard into the crust.
Add another layer of crust if the edge is not high enough.
Wet the crust slightly so it sticks.
Bake until the custard sets, about 15 to 20 minutes.
Lighter version
For a lighter version, thicken the boiling milk with 1 tablespoon corn starch blended with 2 tablespoons cold milk.
Pour over 4 eggs.
Finish as above.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Eggs
- Coagulate as they bake, giving the custard its set structure.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base that gives the custard its smooth, creamy body.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps soften the custard's texture as it sets.
The step that matters
Bake until the custard sets, no longer. Egg proteins set as they heat. Overbaking tightens them too far, so the custard can curdle, weep liquid, and turn grainy. Pull it when the centre barely wobbles.
“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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