Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg 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 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 large bowl, combine the mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, milk, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Mix until smooth and well combined.
Pour the mixture into the unbaked pie crust.
Bake and serve
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the filling is set and the crust is golden brown.
Allow to cool before serving.
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Vanilla + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,287 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
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Sweet potato + cinnamontop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together539 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sweet potato + nutmegtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together414 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mashed sweet potatoes
- Provide the main body and sweet, moist bulk of the filling.
- Eggs
- Set the filling into a sliceable custard as they cook.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the filling brown at the edges.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and a smooth, creamy texture to the filling.
The step that matters
Bake until the filling is set. Eggs thicken as they heat, so the centre should be set and not liquid before removing the pie. Pulling it too early leaves a runny filling, while overbaking can make it dry or cracked.
Swap the sweet potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk, egg, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg):
- Sweet potatothe original
- Arrowrootfits about as well
- Capsicumfits less well
- Parsnipfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, milk, egg, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg. 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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