Why it works: Egg and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 88,785 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Custard Tartlets
serves 6Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Line six deep tartlet pans with short‑crust pastry.
Make the custard
In a bowl, beat the whole egg, then add the milk and sugar to taste.
Fill the tartlet pans with the custard mixture.
Bake in the oven until set, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Make the meringue and serve
Whisk the egg white until stiff and sweeten it.
Lightly pile the meringue on top of the tartlets and return to the oven until the meringue hardens and colors slightly.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Egg + milktop 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).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Whole egg
- Sets the custard and gives it structure as it bakes.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base and moisture for a tender custard.
- Egg white
- Whisked into stiff peaks to form a light meringue topping.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and meringue and helps the meringue brown slightly.
The step that matters
Bake the custard until just set. Egg-based custard turns grainy or watery if overbaked, because the proteins tighten and squeeze out liquid. Removing it once set keeps it smooth.
“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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