Name: Martha Washington Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients: 1 tablespoon butter to each quart; 1 quart of strained pumpkin; 1 cup sugar; 1 tablespoon ginger; 1 gill brandy; 1 gallon of cider; 1 quart each of canned peaches; 1 cup of new orleans molasses; 1 teaspoon each of cloves; 2 pounds of lean fresh beef; 1 pound beef suet clean from threads; 5 pounds apples; 4 pounds raisins; 1 tablespoon each of salt; 2 tablespoons cinnamon; 4 quarts cider; 1 teacup water; 1 table- spoon flour to each quart; 6 well beaten eggs; 5 lbs; 2 lbs; 2 oranges; 2 lemons; 1 peck apples; 2 crusts; mace; ginger; nutmeg; salt; cloves

Why it works: Brandy and cider work together. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 404 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. 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.

Brandy + cidertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together404 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
Ginger + peachtop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together218 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Pumpkin + gingertop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,158 recipes

Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,225 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Brandy + peachtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together339 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

What each ingredient does

Pumpkin: Forms the main body of the filling and supplies its moisture and flavor.
Eggs: Set as they bake, giving the filling structure so it cuts cleanly.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and balances the spices.
Butter: Adds richness and fat, giving the filling a smoother texture.
Flour: Absorbs moisture from the hot pumpkin and helps thicken the filling.

The step that matters

Baking the filling in a quick oven for the full hour. The eggs set the pumpkin custard as they heat. If the pie is pulled early, the filling stays loose and wet in the center and may not slice cleanly.

Swap the pumpkin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, ginger, brandy, cider, peach, molasses):

Applefits better
Apricotfits better
Pearfits better
Pumpkinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, ginger, brandy, cider, peach, molasses. 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
Beef	100g cooked	250
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Apple	1 medium (182g)	95
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Grape	1/2 cup (76g)	62
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Peach	1 medium (150g)	59
Molasses	1 tbsp (20g)	58
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Nutmeg	1 tsp ground (2.2g)	12
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Allspice	1 tsp ground (1.9g)	5
Ginger	1 tsp grated fresh (2g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Pumpkin	not in our table	0
Brandy	not in our table	0
Cider	not in our table	0
Water	not in our table	0
Mace	not in our table	0

Martha Washington Pumpkin Pie