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Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potatoes glazed with maple syrup and butter, optionally topped with pecan halves.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and sweet potato are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 20% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,491 recipes. Both carry 2,3-pentanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓

Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Serves 6
Time10 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Bring syrup and butter to a boil in a large skillet over medium heat.

  2. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 2 minutes.

  3. Add sweet potatoes.

  4. Cook on low heat for 10 minutes, gently turning the sweet potatoes frequently to glaze.

  5. Garnish with pecan halves, if desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

283Calories
5 gProtein
14 gFat
37 gCarbs

Counts 3 of 4 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 3 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Pecan1 half (4g)20
Syrupnot 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 Wikibooks Cookbook.

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. Butter + sweet potatotop 20% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,491 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).

  2. Syrup + sweet potatotop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together59 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  3. Syrup + buttertop 30% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together2,796 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Maple-flavored syrup
Provides the sweet glaze that coats and caramelizes on the potatoes.
Butter or margarine
Adds fat that helps the syrup emulsify and gives a richer, glossy glaze.
Sweet potatoes
Serve as the base that soaks up the syrup and becomes tender while glazing.

The step that matters

Cook on low heat while turning gently. Low heat keeps the syrup from burning before it thickens. Gentle, frequent turning spreads the glaze evenly without breaking the soft potatoes apart.

Swap the sweet potato

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

  1. Potatofits about as well
  2. Sweet potatothe original
  3. Shallotfits less well
  4. Chivefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against syrup, 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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