Why it works: Lemon and orange match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,634 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Sweet Potato Puddixc
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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Grate the sweet potatoes and set aside.
Make the batter
In a bowl, cream the butter and sugar together.
Add the beaten eggs and mix well.
Stir in the grated sweet potatoes, lemon juice and rind, orange juice and rind, mace, cinnamon, and salt.
Pour the mixture into a buttered dish.
Bake and serve
Bake for 30 minutes until set.
Serve hot or cold, optionally with a sauce made from ½ cup sherry and 2 tablespoons brandy.
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.
-
Lemon + orangetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,634 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Sweet potato + cinnamontop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together539 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Orange + cinnamontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,437 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
-
Sweet potato + orangetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together191 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and set into a firm, custard-like pudding when baked.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a tender texture when creamed with the sugar.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps create a light, creamed base.
- Sweet potatoes
- Provide the bulk, moisture and body of the pudding.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sweet potato, butter, sugar, egg, lemon, orange, cinnamon):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Gingerfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sweet potato, butter, sugar, egg, lemon, orange, cinnamon. 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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