Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Sweet Potato Pudding
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.
Make the batter
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, combine the mashed sweet potatoes, beaten eggs, sugar, and softened butter until light and fluffy.
Add the brandy, grated nutmeg, and cinnamon, mixing well.
Stir in enough milk to achieve a proper consistency.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes, or until light brown.
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.
-
Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Sweet potato + cinnamontop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together539 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Sweet potato + nutmegtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together414 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Cinnamon + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sweet potatoes
- Provide the bulk and moisture that give the pudding its soft, dense body.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and help it set as it bakes.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a tender texture to the pudding.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps it brown at the surface.
The step that matters
Stir in milk to the right consistency. Sweet potato varies in moisture, so the batter must be loose enough to pour but not runny. Too little liquid makes a dry, dense pudding, while too much stops it from setting firmly in the oven.
“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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