Name: Easy Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients: 14 oz Can of evaporated milk; 1 x prepared 9-inch pie crust; 2 x Eggs; 1/2 cup Sugar; 1/2 cup Dark brown sugar, firmly packed; 1 tbsp Flour; 1/4 tsp Salt; 1 tsp Ground cinnamon; 1/4 tsp Ground nutmeg; 1/4 tsp Ground ginger; 1/4 tsp Ground allspice; 16 oz can cooked pumpkin

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 ↓

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 + allspicetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,536 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,331 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together6,380 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,620 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Set the custard-like filling as they cook, giving the pie its structure.
Evaporated milk: Adds richness and creaminess, helping the filling become smooth and tender.
Cooked pumpkin: Forms the body of the filling and provides moisture and flavour.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps soften the texture of the filling.
Dark brown sugar: Adds sweetness and a deeper, molasses-like flavour.
Flour: Helps thicken the filling and stabilise its texture as it bakes.

The step that matters

Bake until just set. Overbaking causes eggs to curdle and weep, leaving a cracked, grainy texture. The pie should be removed when the centre is just set and a knife comes out clean, then it firms further as it cools.

Swap the ginger

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (evaporated milk, egg, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice):

Cardamomfits better
Clovefits better
Gingerthe original
Turmericfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against evaporated milk, egg, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Allspice	1 tsp ground (1.9g)	5
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Pie Crust	not in our table	0
Pumpkin	not in our table	0

Easy Pumpkin Pie

Easy Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

Directions

Make the filling

Bake and chill

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)