Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Sour Cream Pie
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 filling
Beat the yolks of the eggs and mix in the sugar, corn starch, and sour cream.
Cook the mixture in a double boiler until thick.
Stir in the cleaned currants and pour into the baked pie crust.
Top and serve
Make a meringue by beating the egg whites with sugar until stiff peaks form.
Spread the meringue over the pie and brown in a 400°F (200°C) oven.
Serve cold.
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + corntop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,168 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Corn + creamtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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 as they set during cooking, giving it a rich, smooth body.
- Corn starch
- Thickens the sour cream mixture as it heats, giving the filling structure.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture, tang and a creamy texture to the filling.
- Currants
- Add tart, fruity bursts of flavour that contrast with the sweet custard.
- Egg whites
- Whip into a foam that forms the meringue topping and browns in the oven.
The step that matters
Cook the mixture in a double boiler until thick. Egg yolks can curdle or scramble if overheated. Gentle, indirect heat lets the starch thicken the filling smoothly while the yolks set without turning grainy.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar, corn, cream):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, corn, cream. 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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