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Dessert

Mrs Robert James

A pumpkin pie made with pumpkin, eggs, sugar, molasses, milk, butter, spices, and salt.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By York, Neb. Presbyterian church. [from old catalog] · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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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 ↓

Mrs Robert James

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Combine one can of Oneida pumpkin, four eggs, two cups sugar, one teaspoon each ginger and cinnamon, half cup molasses, one pint milk, two tablespoons melted butter, and salt to taste.

  2. Bake crust a little first.

Make the second filling

  1. Prepare the pumpkin and take for one pie one egg, half pint rich milk, a little salt, half cup sugar and three tablespoons pumpkin; stir well together and season with nutmeg, cinnamon or cloves.

Bake

  1. Bake in under crust.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

463Calories
15 gProtein
26 gFat
45 gCarbs

Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Molasses1 tbsp (20g)58
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Cinnamon1 tsp ground (2.6g)6
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Pienot 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.

By York, Neb. Presbyterian church. [from old catalog]. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

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. Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Ginger + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,380 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Ginger + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,324 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  5. Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together12,655 recipes

    Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).

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

What each ingredient does

Eggs
Set the filling into a firm, sliceable custard as they cook.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and softens the custard's texture.
Milk
Provides liquid that gives the custard its smooth, creamy body.
Molasses
Adds moisture, deep color and a robust sweet flavor.
Melted butter
Adds fat for richness and a tender, smooth texture.

The step that matters

Baking the filling in the crust. Eggs set the custard as it heats. Too much heat or too long in the oven can overcook the eggs, causing cracks, a grainy texture or weeping. Bake until just set in the centre.

Swap the ginger

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

  1. Clovefits better
  2. Allspicefits better
  3. Cardamomfits better
  4. Gingerthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, molasses, milk, butter, egg, nutmeg, cinnamon. 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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