Why it works: Clove and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Fruit Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 300°F (150°C).
Make a pie crust and place a layer in the bottom of a 2-quart tin basin.
Assemble
Add a 2-inch thick layer of chopped sour apples.
Layer chopped raisins on top and sprinkle with sugar, butter pieces, and spices.
Repeat layering until the dish is full, finishing with a crust on top.
Bake and serve
Bake slowly for 2 hours.
Once done, turn the pie bottom side up on a plate and sprinkle with fine sugar before serving.
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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Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
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Apple + clovetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,774 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Raisin + clovetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,070 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Apple + nutmegtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,790 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Sour apples
- Provide the bulk of the filling and tart flavor that balances the sugar.
- Raisins
- Add concentrated sweetness and chewy moisture to the layers.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps draw moisture out of the fruit into the filling.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat that carries the spice flavors through the filling.
- Pie crust
- Encloses the layered fruit so it cooks and holds together as a pie.
The step that matters
Slow baking. Baking slowly at a low temperature for the full time lets the apples soften through and the sugar and fruit juices thicken into a cohesive filling without scorching the crust. Rushing the bake at high heat can leave the apples firm inside while the crust over-browns.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, sugar, butter, clove, nutmeg):
- Figfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Lemonfits about as well
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, sugar, butter, clove, 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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