Why it works: Sugar and vinegar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,806 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Vinegar 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. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the filling
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, combine rolled crackers, water, sugar, egg, egg yolk, and vinegar or lemon juice.
Pour the mixture into a pie crust.
Top and bake
In another bowl, beat the egg white until frothy, then mix in ½ cup sugar.
Spread the egg white mixture on top of the pie.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes until 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 + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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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 + vinegartop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,922 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and vinegar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,922 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
- Rolled crackers
- Thicken the filling and give it body as they absorb liquid.
- Egg yolk
- Enriches the filling and helps it set into a custard-like texture.
- Vinegar or lemon juice
- Adds acidity that gives the pie its sharp, tangy flavor.
- Egg white
- Whipped to form a light topping that puffs and lightly browns in the oven.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps the meringue-style topping brown and hold its structure.
The step that matters
Spreading the egg white topping. Beaten egg white with sugar forms a foam that can deflate or weep if overbeaten or left to stand. Spreading it fully to the edges helps it seal and brown evenly during baking.
“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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