Name: Sauk-Prairie Eagle Inn Easy Sour Cream Raisin Pie
Ingredients: 1 prepared 8- or 9-inch pie shell; 1 cup raisins; 2¼ cup water; 1 cup sugar; 1 cup sour cream; 2 egg yolks; 2 rounded tablespoons cornstarch; ½ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon ground cloves; ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg; ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon 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.

Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,917 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

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

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together8,686 recipes

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

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,390 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Cinnamon + vanillatop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,287 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).

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

What each ingredient does

Cornstarch: Thickens the filling as it heats, giving it a sliceable, set texture.
Egg yolks: Add richness and help thicken the custard-like filling as it cooks.
Sour cream: Adds tanginess and creaminess, softening the sweetness of the filling.
Raisins: Provide chewy texture and concentrated sweetness; they also soften as they cook in water.
Sugar: Sweetens the filling and helps give it body as it cooks.

The step that matters

Cooking the filling after combining. Cornstarch needs to reach a full boil and be heated long enough to thicken; undercooking leaves the filling runny, while the egg yolks must be heated enough to thicken without scrambling.

Swap the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, cream, egg, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla):

Figfits about as well
Blueberryfits about as well
Raisinthe original
Peachfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, cream, egg, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Cloves	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Pie	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0

Sauk-Prairie Eagle Inn Easy Sour Cream Raisin Pie