Name: SpiceLinda
Ingredients: 3-4 large yams, cubed in 1" chunks; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1/2 cup orange juice; 1/4-1/2 cup water; 1 tsp cornstarch (optional); 1 tsp cinnamon; 1 tsp nutmeg; 1/2 tsp cloves

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

Oven350°F

Time1–2 hours

Ingredients

Contains: wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)

Directions

Prepare

Place cubed yams in a large roasting pan, preferably one big enough to make a single layer.
Drizzle the olive oil over the yams and stir to coat.

Bake and serve

Bake in a 350-degree oven for 1–2 hours until soft and slightly browned.
Mix orange juice, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and cornstarch (if using) and pour the mixture over the yams.
Bake for another 5–10 minutes.
Serve.
Alternatively, heat the orange sauce separately and pour over the yams just before serving.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.

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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Yam + cinnamontop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together41 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together11,917 recipes

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

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together14,027 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together8,368 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Orange + cinnamontop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together3,437 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Yams: Starchy base that softens during baking and becomes tender through the middle.
Olive oil: Coats the yams so they brown slightly and carry the spices.
Orange juice: Adds sweetness and acidity to the sauce that flavours the yams.
Cornstarch: Thickens the orange sauce so it clings to the yams.

Flavor stand-ins for the yam

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (olive, orange, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove):

Carrotbetter flavor fit
Capsicumbetter flavor fit
Tomatobetter flavor fit
Yamthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against olive, orange, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove. 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).

“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.