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 ↓
Baked Apple Dumplings
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a good oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the dough
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl.
Chop the butter into the flour mixture using a knife until well combined.
Add enough milk to moisten the mixture, about ½ cup.
Dust a pastry board with flour and roll the dough into a sheet about ⅛ inch thick.
Cut the dough into squares large enough to hold an apple.
Fill and wrap
Pare and core the apples, then fill them with sugar and a little cinnamon.
Place an apple in the center of each square and fold the corners over the apple, moistening with egg white or water to seal.
Bake and serve
Brush the dumplings with the beaten egg.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for about 30 minutes, depending on the apples.
Serve warm with cream.
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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Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,598 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together17,341 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
- All-purpose flour
- Forms the dough's structure once moistened and rolled.
- Butter
- Cut into the flour to make the dough tender and flaky.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the oven so the dough rises and lightens.
- Milk
- Moistens the flour so the mixture binds into a rollable dough.
- Cooking apples
- Provide the filling that softens and perfumes the dumpling as it bakes.
- Egg
- Beaten egg brushed on top promotes browning on the baked dough.
The step that matters
Sealing the dumplings. If the corners are not moistened with egg white or water and pressed closed, the dough can split and the apple juices may leak out during baking.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, butter, milk, sugar, cinnamon, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, butter, milk, sugar, cinnamon, egg. 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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