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Dessert

Potato Custard Pie

A custard pie made with boiled potatoes, egg yolks, sugar, nutmeg, butter, and milk, baked in a crust.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Martin, Maria Ewing, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Why it works: Potato and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,052 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Potato Custard Pie

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the custard

  1. Grate 2 good sized boiled potatoes.

  2. Beat the yolks of 4 eggs very light.

  3. Add a little sugar and grated nutmeg.

  4. Add the potatoes, a heaping teaspoon butter, and milk enough for a very thin custard.

Bake and serve

  1. Fill a good crust.

  2. Bake till the custard is set.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

251Calories
11 gProtein
6 gFat
39 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 3 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Potato1 medium (173g) baked161
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Nutmeg1 tsp ground (2.2g)12

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Martin, Maria Ewing, Mrs., [from old catalog] comp. 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. Potato + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,052 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).

  2. Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together24,744 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Potato + eggtop 29% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,978 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

Egg and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 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

Potatoes
Grated potato gives the custard body and a thick, creamy texture.
Eggs
Beaten yolks thicken and set the custard as it bakes.
Butter (in the method)
Adds richness and fat for a smoother, more tender custard.
Milk (in the method)
Supplies liquid that thins the custard and lets the eggs set it gently.
Sugar (in the method)
Adds sweetness to balance the eggs and nutmeg.

The step that matters

Bake till the custard is set. Egg proteins set with heat, but overbaking makes the custard grainy and watery as they tighten and squeeze out liquid. Bake only until just set in the centre.

Swap the potato

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

  1. Spinachfits better
  2. Sweet potatofits better
  3. Shallotfits better
  4. Potatothe original

Fit is the average pairing score against egg, 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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