Name: All-American Apple Pie
Ingredients: 1/4 cup sugar; 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 4 large red delicious apples, cored,peeled and sliced; 2 tablespoons butter, melted; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 (15 ounces) package folded refrigerated pie crusts

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 ↓

All-American Apple Pie

Oven375°F

Time50–55 minutes

Ingredients

1/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 large red delicious apples, cored,peeled and sliced
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (15 ounces) package folded refrigerated pie crusts

Directions

Prepare

Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg; mix well.
Add the apples and toss to coat completely.
Pour the apple mixture into a 9‑inch pie plate.

Assemble and bake

Combine the butter and vanilla and pour over the apples; cover the apples with the pie crust.
Spray the crust with nonstick cooking spray and bake for 50–55 minutes.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

731Calories

14 gProtein

14 gFat

136 gCarbs

Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Apple	1 medium (182g)	95
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Pie Crust	not in our table	0

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

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,917 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Cinnamon + vanillatop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,287 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
Cinnamon + appletop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,598 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Apple + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,501 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together18,623 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Red delicious apples: Provide the main filling, softening as they bake into a tender, juicy layer.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps draw moisture from the apples to form the filling.
All-purpose flour: Thickens the juices released by the apples so the filling sets rather than running.
Butter: Adds richness and fat, carrying flavour and helping the filling feel smooth.
Pie crusts: Form the enclosing pastry that holds the filling and browns in the oven.

The step that matters

Cover the apples with the crust and bake. Sugar and flour in the apple mixture release and thicken juices as the pie bakes, so the full baking time is needed for the filling to set and the crust to brown evenly.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, vanilla):

Raisinfits better
Figfits better
Blueberryfits better
Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, butter, vanilla. 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.

Apple Pudding256 recipes

Vanilla Ice Cream108 recipes

Apple Cake80 recipes

Apple Meringue75 recipes

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All-American Apple Pie