Why it works: Yam and cinnamon work together. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and 41 recipes mention both. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 10Ingredients
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Heat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Peel the yams and slice them into thin rounds about 1/8 inch (3 mm) thick.
Warm the honey slightly in a small bowl so it spreads easily, then brush or toss the yam slices with it and arrange them in a single layer on the sheet.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, turning the slices once halfway through, until the edges are golden and the yams are tender when pierced with a fork.
While the yams bake, combine the cinnamon, sugar, nutmeg and corn syrup in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.
Stir the glaze until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is smooth and warm, about 2 minutes. Keep it warm over low heat.
Transfer the baked yam thins to a serving plate while still warm.
Serve the yam thins warm with the cinnamon glaze in a small bowl for dipping.
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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Yam + cinnamontop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together41 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Honey + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together1,446 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
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Cinnamon + sugartop 4% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together30,777 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + syruptop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together5,841 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Cinnamon and sugar share little aroma chemistry, yet 30,777 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (yam, honey, cinnamon, sugar, corn, syrup):
- Gingerbetter flavor fit
- Cardamomabout as good a flavor fit
- Nutmegthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against yam, honey, cinnamon, sugar, corn, syrup. 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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