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My Grandma’s Pecan Pie

It’s the rich, buttery, gooey filling studded with pecans that makes this pie literally the best I’ve ever tasted.

By tastykitchen · From Open Recipes · 8 ingredients
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My Grandma’s Pecan Pie

Why it works: Sugar and syrup match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,842 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

My Grandma’s Pecan Pie

Serves 8
Prep10 min
Cook40 min

Ingredients

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

338Calories
10 gProtein
20 gFat
31 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 8 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Corn1/2 cup kernels (82g)77
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Pecan1 half (4g)20
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Pie Crustnot in our table0
Syrupnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By tastykitchen. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

  1. Sugar + syruptop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,842 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  2. Vanilla + pecanstop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,691 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

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

  4. Corn + vanillatop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,943 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  5. Butter + pecanstop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,416 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

Sugar and vanilla 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

Swap the pecans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, corn, syrup, vanilla):

  1. Almondfits better
  2. Chestnutfits about as well
  3. Hazelnutfits about as well
  4. Pecansthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, corn, syrup, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.