Why it works: Pumpkin and corn work together. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 286 recipes mention both. Both carry 2,3-pentanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 10Ingredients
Contains: milk (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.
Melt the salted butter in a large heavy pot over medium-low heat.
Add the jumbo pumpkin marshmallows and stir constantly until fully melted and smooth, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground ginger and ground cloves until evenly combined. Remove the pot from the heat.
Place the popped popcorn in a very large heatproof bowl.
Pour the warm marshmallow mixture over the popcorn and toss quickly with a spatula or greased spoon until every piece is coated.
Let the mixture cool for 3 to 5 minutes, just until it is comfortable to handle.
Fold in the candy corn so it is spread evenly through the popcorn.
Lightly dampen your hands with a splash of water, then press portions of the mixture firmly into 10 balls.
Set the popcorn balls on a parchment-lined tray and let them cool and firm up at room temperature for about 20 minutes before serving.
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 + corntop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together286 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together14,027 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,171 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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 (butter, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, corn):
- Allspiceabout as good a flavor fit
- Cardamomabout as good a flavor fit
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, corn. 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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