Why it works: Cinnamon and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,536 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Baked Sweet Potato
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).
Grate the sweet potatoes and place them in a mixing bowl.
Mix and bake
Add cinnamon, black pepper, allspice, sugar, lard, butter, eggs, and milk or cream.
Mix all ingredients thoroughly until well combined.
Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish.
Bake for 30-40 minutes or until set and golden on top.
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 + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,536 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).
-
Pepper + allspicetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,395 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Sweet potato + allspicetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together105 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl benzoate (fruity, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sweet potatoes
- Form the bulk of the dish, providing starch and moisture that set into a soft body.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and set during baking to give it structure.
- Lard
- Adds fat for a tender texture and richer mouthfeel.
- Butter
- Adds fat and flavour, contributing to a tender texture and golden browning.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the top brown during baking.
- Milk or cream
- Adds moisture and richness, helping the custard-like mixture stay tender as it sets.
The step that matters
Mix all ingredients thoroughly until well combined.. Grated raw sweet potato can separate and sit unevenly if the eggs, fats and liquid are not evenly distributed. Thorough mixing gives a uniform batter so the dish sets evenly rather than in pockets.
Swap the sweet potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cinnamon, pepper, allspice, sugar, butter, egg, milk):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Sweet potatothe original
- Mustardfits about as well
- Carrotfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against cinnamon, pepper, allspice, sugar, butter, egg, milk. 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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