Why it works: Pumpkin and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,744 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
The recipe
2 piesIngredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Cut the sugar pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, and place the halves cut side down in a baking dish with a splash of water. Roast about 45 minutes until tender.
Let the pumpkin cool, scoop out the flesh, and puree it until smooth. Measure out enough puree for two pies.
Whisk the brown sugar, beaten eggs, evaporated milk, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt into the pumpkin puree until fully combined and smooth.
Brush the bottoms and edges of the two prepared pie crusts with the beaten egg white, then sprinkle the white sugar evenly over the egg white.
Divide the pumpkin filling between the two crusts and spread it level.
Raise the oven to 425°F (220°C). Bake the pies for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F (175°C) and bake 35 to 40 minutes more until the filling is set and the center reaches 160°F (71°C).
Cool the pies on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing. Refrigerate any leftovers.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Pumpkin + cinnamontop 3% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together1,744 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Ginger + nutmegtop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together3,324 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together30,777 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and cinnamon share little aroma chemistry, yet 30,777 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, pumpkin, egg, evaporated milk, cinnamon, nutmeg):
- Cardamomabout as good a flavor fit
- Gingerthe original
- Allspiceabout as good a flavor fit
- Cloveabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, pumpkin, egg, evaporated milk, cinnamon, nutmeg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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