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 ↓
Pumpkin 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. 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).
Make the filling
In a large bowl, combine the stewed pumpkin, milk, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and wine or brandy.
Beat the egg yolks and add them to the mixture, then beat the egg whites until stiff and fold them in.
Bake
Pour the mixture into the pie crust.
Bake for about 45 minutes or until set.
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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Pumpkin + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,744 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Pumpkin + nutmegtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,126 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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
What each ingredient does
- Pumpkin
- Provides the bulk and the main flavour of the filling.
- Eggs
- Set the custard as they cook and, with the whipped whites, lighten its texture.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and creaminess that bakes into a smooth custard.
- White sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps it brown lightly as it bakes.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whites beaten until stiff trap air that lightens the filling; overmixing or deflating them while folding makes the pie dense and less airy.
Swap the pumpkin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, wine):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Pumpkinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, wine. 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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