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Dessert

Pear Pie

A baked pie with sliced Bartlett pears, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, cornstarch, and a simple syrup.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg 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 ↓

Pear Pie

Oven350 °F
Time60 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the filling

  1. Core, peel, and slice the pears into ¼ or ⅛‑inch segments, then add the lemon juice to the pear segments.

  2. In a separate pot, bring the water, white sugar, and brown sugar to a boil to make a simple syrup.

  3. In a separate bowl, mix the cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, and cornstarch.

  4. When the syrup is done boiling, combine it with the dry mixture and the pears.

Assemble and bake

  1. Arrange one of the pie crusts on top of the pie pan.

  2. Add the pear filling into the pie pan, then transfer any excess juices to the pie pan.

  3. Cover the filling with the other pie crust and make three slits on top.

  4. Bake in the oven at 350 °F for 60 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool and serve

  1. Remove the pie from the oven and let it cool.

  2. If desired, serve warm with ice cream or frozen custard.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

635Calories
14 gProtein
2 gFat
142 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 8 ingredients. The other 2 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Bartlett Pear1 medium (178g)101
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Pie Crustnot in our table0
Waternot 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. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,318 recipes

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

  3. Cinnamon + lemontop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,950 recipes

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

  4. Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,623 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  5. Cinnamon + flourtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together17,341 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

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

What each ingredient does

Pears
Provide the fruit filling and its juices, giving the pie its main flavor and body.
Cornstarch
Thickens the syrup and pear juices so the filling sets rather than running out when sliced.
Flour
Adds additional thickening to the filling alongside the cornstarch.
Sugar
Sweetens the filling and helps form the syrup that cooks the pears.
Pie crusts
Form the structure that encloses the filling and browns in the oven.

The step that matters

Combine the syrup with the dry mixture. Starch must be fully dispersed and heated to a boil to thicken. Adding the syrup to the cornstarch and flour mix slowly while stirring prevents lumps and ensures the filling thickens evenly.

Swap the bartlett pear

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cinnamon, sugar, flour, lemon, nutmeg):

  1. Raisinfits better
  2. Vanillafits better
  3. Limefits better
  4. Bartlett pearthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cinnamon, sugar, flour, lemon, nutmeg. 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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