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 ↓
Apple and Sago Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Pare and core the apples, filling the holes with ground cinnamon and sugar.
Measure a large spoonful of sago for each apple and mix it with a little cold water.
Add boiling water to the sago mixture until it fills the pudding dish, stirring constantly until it thickens.
Cover the mixture and let it stand for about two hours until the sago swells.
Pour the mixture into the dish and bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for two hours.
Serve with sugar and 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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Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Cinnamon and sugar 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
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cinnamon, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits about as well
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against cinnamon, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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