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 ↓
Sweet Potato 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.
Prepare the filling
Boil the sweet potato until tender, then mash it with the butter.
Beat the egg yolks and sugar together. Add the milk gradually.
Mix in the mashed potato, cinnamon, nutmeg, and brandy.
Bake and finish
Line a pie plate with the mixture.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.
Beat the egg whites until stiff. Sweeten the egg whites with powdered sugar.
Cover the pie with the meringue.
Bake until lightly browned.
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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Sweet potato + cinnamontop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together539 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sweet potato + nutmegtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together414 recipes
Shared aroma: linalool (floral, citrus).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sweet potato
- Provides the main body and bulk of the filling when mashed.
- Eggs
- Egg yolks thicken the filling and set it, while whites form the meringue.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and creaminess, loosening the filling into a smooth custard.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps stabilize the beaten egg whites.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smoother, softer texture in the mashed potato.
The step that matters
Beat the egg whites until stiff. Egg whites must be fully whipped to hold their air for a stable meringue; under-beaten whites weep and collapse in the oven, and any trace of yolk or grease will prevent them from stiffening.
“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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