Name: Sunglow Motel-Cafe Pickle Pie
Yield: 2 pies
Ingredients: 5 eggs; 2 cups white granulated sugar; 1 tsp cinnamon; 1 tsp nutmeg; 1 tsp lemon extract; 2 tbsp cornstarch; 1 cup + 2 tbsp light cream; ⅛ cup margarine , melted; 12 oz sweet pickles , drained and ground; 2 unbaked 9- inch pie shells

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 ↓

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.

Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,917 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Nutmeg + lemontop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,318 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Cinnamon + lemontop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together7,950 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together30,779 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Set the custard-like filling and give it structure and body as they cook.
Sugar: Sweetens the filling and helps create a thick, smooth texture when beaten with eggs.
Cornstarch: Thickens the filling so it holds a sliceable set after baking.
Light cream: Adds moisture and richness, giving the filling a tender, creamy texture.
Margarine: Adds fat for richness and a smooth mouthfeel in the filling.
Sweet pickles: Provide the main flavor and sweetness, with moisture that is absorbed into the custard.

The step that matters

Bake until a knife comes out clean. Eggs and cornstarch set as the filling heats. Pulling the pie too early leaves a runny center, while overbaking can make the custard curdle, weep, or crack.

Swap the lemon

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

Vanillafits better
Raisinfits better
Figfits about as well
Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, cream. 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
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Pie	not in our table	0

Sunglow Motel-Cafe Pickle Pie