Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg 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 ↓
Apple Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the filling
Pare, core, and slice the apples.
Flavor the apples with cinnamon, nutmeg, or lemon juice.
If the apples are not juicy, add 1-2 tablespoons of water.
Assemble and bake
Line a pie plate with plain pastry and sprinkle with bread crumbs.
Layer the sliced apples in the crust and sprinkle with sugar and spices.
Cover with the upper crust, slash and prick it, then bake until the crust is brown and the fruit is soft.
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,598 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
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Nutmeg + lemontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Cinnamon + lemontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Apples
- Provide the bulk of the filling, which softens during baking and gives the pie its body.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps draw juice from the apples, shaping the filling's texture.
- Bread crumbs
- Sit under the filling and absorb excess juice so the bottom crust stays drier.
- Plain pastry
- Forms the structure that holds the filling and browns in the oven.
The step that matters
Adding water only if the apples are not juicy. Apples vary in juiciness. Too much added water thins the filling and makes it soggy, while too little leaves the fruit dry and unable to soften properly.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apple, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, bread):
- Figfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Pearfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against apple, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, bread. 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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