Name: Mashed Maple Sweet Potatoes
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 1 - 2 quart casserole
Ingredients: 4 large sweet potatoes; 1/2 cup softened butter; 1 cup heavy cream; 2 tablespoons vanilla extract; 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar; 1 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup maple syrup; 1 cup chopped pecans; 2 eggs, beaten; 2 tablespoons maple syrup; 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Why it works: Sweet potato and pecans match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 136 recipes. Both carry 2,3-pentanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

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.

Sweet potato + pecanstop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together136 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Sweet potato + vanillatop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together189 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,516 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Vanilla + pecanstop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,691 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Vanilla and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Pecans	1 oz (28g / ~19 halves)	196
Potato	1 medium (173g) baked	161
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Maple Syrup	1 tbsp (20ml)	52
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Mashed Maple Sweet Potatoes