Why it works: Plum and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,313 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓
Plum Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Cut the plums in half and remove the stones.
Line your pie plates with the pie crust.
Assemble
Layer the plums in the pie crust and sprinkle with sugar.
Roll out more pie crust to cover the pies.
Leave an opening in the center of the lid for steam to escape.
Bake
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until golden brown.
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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Plum + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,313 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Plums
- Make up the fruit filling, releasing juice that becomes the pie's body as it cooks.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the fruit and draws out its juices, helping form a syrupy filling and aiding browning.
- Pie crust
- Forms the structure that holds the filling in the pie and encloses the fruit as it bakes.
The step that matters
Leave an opening in the center of the lid. As the filling heats, its juices turn to steam. A vent lets that steam escape, so pressure does not build up and force the filling out or split the crust.
“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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