Why it works: Potato and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,052 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓
Potato Custard 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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Boil and mash the potatoes until smooth.
Make the filling
In a bowl, cream the mashed potatoes with the butter.
Add the sugar and grated nutmeg, mixing well.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg yolks and then combine with the potato mixture.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the egg whites into the potato mixture.
Bake
Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 30-40 minutes or until set.
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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Potato + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,052 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together24,377 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together24,744 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 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
- Potatoes
- Provide the bulk and creamy body of the custard filling.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving the filling a softer, smoother texture.
- Eggs
- Set the custard when baked, and the whipped whites lighten its texture.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps keep the custard tender.
- Nutmeg
- Adds warm aromatic flavour to the filling.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whipped egg whites trap air that lightens the filling. Stirring them in vigorously knocks that air out, leaving a denser pie, so fold gently until just combined.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, sugar, nutmeg):
- Sweet potatofits better
- Leekfits better
- Chivefits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, sugar, nutmeg. 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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