Name: Vermont French Crumb Peach Pie
Ingredients: 2 crust package pie crust mix; 4 cups fresh sliced peaches; 1 cup granulated sugar; 2 tablespoons tapioca; ½ teaspoon nutmeg; 1 tablespoon butter

Why it works: Peach and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 10% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 342 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Vermont French Crumb Peach Pie

Oven400

Time40 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Prepare 1 crust according to package directions, then fit into pie pan and chill.
Mix peaches, ½ cup sugar and tapioca.

Make the topping

Blend remaining pie crust mix, sugar and nutmeg, then cut in butter to make coarse crumbs.

Bake and serve

Pour peach mixture into pastry crust and top with crumb mixture.
Bake at 400 for 40 minutes until crumb topping is light brown.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

222Calories

2 gProtein

13 gFat

28 gCarbs

Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 4 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Peach	1 medium (150g)	59
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
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.

Peach + nutmegtop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together342 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Peach + buttertop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together860 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
Nutmeg + buttertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together24,377 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together98,233 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Peach + sugartop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,308 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Peaches: Provide the fruit filling and its moisture and flavour.
Tapioca: Thickens the juices released by the peaches so the filling sets rather than running.
Butter: Adds fat that helps the crumb topping turn golden brown as it bakes.
Granulated sugar: Sweetens the filling and topping and helps the crumb brown.
Pie crust mix: Forms the pastry base and the crumb topping, giving structure and a tender texture.

The step that matters

Thickening the peach mixture. Tapioca must be mixed fully with the peaches and sugar before baking. It absorbs the released juices as it heats, so the filling thickens instead of leaving a runny pie.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (peach, sugar, butter):

Cinnamonfits better
Nutmegthe original
Gingerfits about as well
Clovefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against peach, sugar, butter. 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.

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Peach Fritters55 recipes

Peach Meringue40 recipes

Peach Ice16 recipes

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Vermont French Crumb Peach Pie