Why it works: Ginger and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,380 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Squash or Pumpkin Pie
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.
Prepare the squash
Cut the squash into pieces and remove the seeds, leaving the skin on.
Steam the squash until cooked, then scrape the flesh from the rind and press it through a colander.
Make the filling
In a bowl, combine the warm squash, brown sugar, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and egg yolks.
Beat in the boiling milk until well mixed, then fold in the beaten egg whites.
Bake
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Pour the mixture into a pricked pie crust and bake for 10 minutes.
Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and continue baking until set.
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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Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Winter squash + cinnamontop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together21 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Winter squash + gingertop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together16 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Winter squash
- Provides the bulk and smooth body of the filling once pureed.
- Eggs
- Their proteins set during baking, giving the filling its firm, sliceable structure.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the filling taste rich and caramelised.
- Milk
- Adds liquid and creaminess, diluting the eggs so the custard sets softly.
- Cinnamon
- Contributes warm aromatic flavour that defines the spiced character of the pie.
- Ginger
- Adds a sharp, warming aroma that balances the sweetness of the filling.
The step that matters
Baking until set. Egg proteins set as they heat, and overbaking makes the custard curdle, crack, and weep liquid. Pull the pie when the centre just wobbles, since it firms as it cools.
Swap the winter squash
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, milk, butter, ginger, cinnamon):
- Vanillafits better
- Lemonfits better
- Figfits better
- Winter squashthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, milk, butter, ginger, cinnamon. 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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