Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Fruit Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderately warm oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Line a pie dish with the pie crust.
Spread the bottom with strawberry or raspberry preserves.
Sprinkle the chopped almonds and candied lemon peel over the preserves.
Make the filling
In a bowl, mix the sugar, melted butter, egg yolks, egg whites, and almond essence until well combined.
Pour the mixture over the preserves and nuts in the pie dish.
Bake and serve
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until set.
Let cool, then sprinkle powdered sugar on top.
Serve with cream.
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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Strawberry + almondtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together433 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Almond + lemontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,655 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Almond + buttertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,245 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Egg yolks and whites set the filling into a firm, sliceable custard as it bakes.
- Butter
- Melted butter adds richness and a tender texture to the filling.
- White sugar
- Sugar sweetens the filling and helps it brown lightly as it bakes.
- Strawberry or raspberry preserves
- Preserves form a sweet, fruity layer under the filling.
The step that matters
Bake until set. Egg proteins set as they heat, so underbaking leaves the filling runny, while overbaking makes it dry and rubbery. Check that the center barely wobbles before removing the pie.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (strawberry, almond, sugar, butter, egg, cream):
- Vanillafits better
- Raspberryfits better
- Peachfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against strawberry, almond, sugar, butter, egg, 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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