Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Raisin Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the filling
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, combine raisins, sugar, eggs, vinegar, and sour cream.
Mix well until fully combined.
Pour the filling into the prepared pie crusts.
Bake
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until the filling is set and the crust is golden.
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.
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 + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + vinegartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,806 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Raisin + eggtop 23% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,556 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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 sliceable custard as they cook and firm up.
- Sour cream
- Adds moisture and richness, giving the filling a smooth, creamy body.
- Raisins
- Provide chewy texture and concentrated sweetness throughout the filling.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps balance the filling's tang.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that sharpens the sweetness of the filling.
The step that matters
Bake until the filling is just set. The eggs and sour cream thicken as they heat, so the filling sets during baking. Underbaking leaves it runny and it will not hold a slice. Overbaking heats the eggs too far, causing them to curdle, weep liquid, and turn grainy.
Swap the raisin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, vinegar, cream):
- Vanillafits better
- Strawberryfits better
- Raspberryfits better
- Raisinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, vinegar, 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.
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