Name: Peach and Apricot Pie
Ingredients: pie crust; peaches; apricots; sugar; 2 egg whites; ½ cup powdered sugar

Why it works: Peach and apricot match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 342 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Peach and Apricot Pie

Oven, in the book's wordsA hot oven

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.

Line a pie plate with pie crust.
Pare and slice the peaches and apricots, then lay them in the plate.
Fill the pie well with the fruit.
Cover with a piece of greased paper and bake at 400°F (200°C).
Once done, add sugar to taste.
Beat the egg whites until stiff, then mix in the powdered sugar.
Spread the egg mixture on top and bake until it gets a little color.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Peach + apricottop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together342 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Peach + sugartop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,308 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Apricot + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,630 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Peach + eggtop 29% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,048 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).