Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Pumpkin 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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, mix the pumpkin, cream, molasses, sugar, eggs, and salt until well combined.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into a pie crust and bake for 45 minutes or until set.
Top with meringue and serve with whipped 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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Cream + molassestop 20% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,408 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Pumpkin + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,350 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Set as they heat, giving the filling its firm, sliceable structure.
- Pumpkin
- Provides the bulk, moisture and main flavour of the filling.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, tender texture to the filling.
- Molasses
- Adds deep sweetness, colour and a caramel-like flavour.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and balances the spices and salt.
The step that matters
Bake until just set. Eggs set as they heat, so the filling should be baked until just firm with a slight wobble in the center. Overbaking can make the custard cracked, grainy or watery.
Swap the pumpkin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cream, molasses, sugar, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Pumpkinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cream, molasses, sugar, egg. 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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