Why it works: Sugar and rhubarb are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,852 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Pie Plant 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.
Prepare the filling
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Beat the sugar with the egg yolks until well combined.
Add the rhubarb to the mixture and pour into the pie crust.
Bake until set.
Top and finish
Whip the egg whites until stiff, then add the tablespoon of sugar.
Spread the whipped egg whites over the top of the pie.
Return the pie to the oven for a few moments until the topping is lightly browned.
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 + rhubarbtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,852 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + rhubarbtop 31% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together570 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rhubarb
- Provides the tart flavor and bulk that the filling is built around.
- Egg yolks
- Bind the sugar and rhubarb mixture and help it set when baked.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a stiff foam that forms a light topping and browns in the oven.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps the whipped egg white topping stay stable.
The step that matters
Bake the filling until set. Underbaking leaves the egg yolk filling runny, while overbaking can make it weep or turn tough. Watching for a set center, not a fixed time, gives the best texture before the topping goes on.
Swap the rhubarb
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Rhubarbthe original
- Gingerfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, 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.
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