Why it works: Apple and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,598 recipes. Both carry methyl cinnamate, which smells strawberry. The science ↓
Pie, Apple
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Line a pie plate with pastry.
Slice the apples thin and wash them in cold water.
Assemble and bake
Fill the pie tin with the sliced apples.
Sprinkle the apples with sugar, cinnamon, and mace.
Cover the filling with the pastry.
Bake for about 45 minutes, or until the apples are soft and the crust is brown.
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.
-
Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,598 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
-
Cinnamon + macetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).
-
Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Apple + macetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together865 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
-
Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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, softening during baking to become tender.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps draw moisture from the apples to form syrup.
- Cinnamon
- Adds warm aroma that complements the cooked apples.
- Mace
- Adds a warm, aromatic spice flavor to the filling.
- Pastry
- Forms the crust that encloses the filling and browns in the oven.
The step that matters
Cover the filling with the pastry. The apples must be fully cooked through to become soft, but the crust can brown too quickly. Watching the bake until the apples are tender and the crust is golden helps the filling set without burning the top.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apple, sugar, cinnamon):
- Nutmegfits better
- Clovefits better
- Gingerfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against apple, sugar, 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.
More apple pie recipes
You might also like
Apple Pudding256 recipes
Apple Cake80 recipes
Apple Meringue75 recipes
Cinnamon Rolls71 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.