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 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.
Fill the pie
Pare, core, and cut the apples, then fill the pie.
Mix the cinnamon, salt, lemon juice, sugar, and nutmeg, and sprinkle over the apples.
Dot the filling with butter.
Cover and bake
Wet the edges of the bottom crust, cover with the top crust, and press the edges together.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the apples are cooked.
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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Lemon + nutmegtop 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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Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Cinnamon and sugar 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 and tender cooked fruit that forms the pie filling.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps draw out juices as the apples cook.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat to the filling as it melts over the apples.
- Lemon juice
- Adds acidity that brightens the apple flavour and balances the sugar.
- Cinnamon
- Adds warm aromatic flavour that complements the cooked apples.
The step that matters
Bake until the apples are cooked. Apples need to soften fully through the pie. Underbaked apples stay firm and the filling can be runny, so check doneness rather than relying only on the time.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cinnamon, lemon, sugar, nutmeg, butter):
- Vanillafits better
- Orangefits better
- Raisinfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cinnamon, lemon, sugar, nutmeg, butter. 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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