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Dessert

Maple-glazed Candied Yams

Sweet yams glazed with maple syrup, thyme, pepper, salt, and orange zest, baked until soft and golden.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 6 ingredients
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Why it works: Yam and thyme share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 22 recipes. Both carry coumarin, which smells sweet, hay. The science ↓

Maple-glazed Candied Yams

Oven350°F
Time45 minutes to 1 hour

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

Glaze and bake

  1. Toss sliced yams with remaining ingredients until evenly coated.

  2. Place on a 13 by 9 inch baking pan and bake until soft and golden brown, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

  3. Stir occasionally to coat evenly in glaze.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

124Calories
2 gProtein
0 gFat
31 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Orange1 medium (131g)62
Maple Syrup1 tbsp (20ml)52
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Thyme1 tsp dried (1.4g)4
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Yamnot in our table0

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.

  1. Yam + thymetop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together22 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  2. Thyme + peppertop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together11,585 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  3. Thyme + orangetop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together442 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  4. Pepper + orangetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,402 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  5. Yam + peppertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together111 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

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

What each ingredient does

Sweet yams
Form the bulk of the dish and turn soft and tender as they bake.
Maple syrup
Adds sweetness and sugars that caramelize into a glossy, golden glaze.
Orange juice and zest
Adds acidity and citrus aroma that balance the sweetness of the maple.

The step that matters

Stir occasionally to coat evenly in glaze. The sugars in maple syrup can scorch on the pan while the yams stay pale underneath. Stirring redistributes the glaze so the pieces brown evenly and do not burn in spots.

Swap the yam

The recipe marks yam as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (maple syrup, thyme, pepper, orange):

  1. Carrotfits better
  2. Capsicumfits better
  3. Sweet potatofits about as well
  4. Yamthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against maple syrup, thyme, pepper, orange. 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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