Why it works: Cinnamon and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,380 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
New England Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the filling
Stew the pumpkin until soft, then press through a sieve.
In a bowl, beat the eggs well and stir into the milk.
Gradually add the sifted pumpkin, melted butter, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and ginger.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into pie crusts.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) 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 + gingertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 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 + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Pumpkin + gingertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,158 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Bind the filling and help it set firm when baked.
- Pumpkin
- Provides the bulk, moisture, and body of the filling.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and richness, forming the liquid base of the custard.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth, tender texture.
The step that matters
Baking until set. Eggs thicken as they heat, so the pie must be baked until just set. Overbaking can make the custard curdle, weep, or crack, while underbaking leaves it runny.
Swap the ginger
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pumpkin, milk, egg, butter, sugar, cinnamon):
- Nutmegfits better
- Cardamomfits better
- Gingerthe original
- Clovefits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against pumpkin, milk, egg, butter, sugar, cinnamon. 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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