Why it works: Sugar and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 92,116 recipes. Both carry phenylacetaldehyde, which smells hawthorne, honey. The science ↓
Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the filling
Stew and sift pumpkin (or squash) until soft.
Combine pumpkin with salt, mace, cinnamon, sugar, and beaten egg.
Pour mixture over a cup each of boiling hot cream and milk.
If pumpkin is watery, add one teaspoonful flour.
Bake
If using puff pastry, lay a rim at least one inch wide around the edge of the plate and roll the edge of the squash very thin.
Fill the plate and set into oven as quickly as possible.
Bake until it rises well in the middle.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 4 of 5 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 4 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Mace | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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.
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Mace + flourtop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together7,974 recipes
-
Mace + sugartop 34% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,096 recipes
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Pumpkin (in the method)
- Provides the bulk and body of the filling once stewed and sifted smooth.
- Egg
- Sets the custard as it bakes, giving the filling structure and firmness.
- Cream and milk (in the method)
- Add richness and moisture, producing a smoother, softer custard.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the filling brown slightly as it bakes.
- Flour
- Thickens watery pumpkin so the filling holds its shape when baked.
The step that matters
Set the pie into the oven quickly. Egg custard begins to set as soon as it is hot, so filling the plate and getting it into the oven without delay helps the texture stay smooth and even.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, flour, egg):
- Jalapenofits better
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, flour, egg. 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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