Why it works: Cream and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Stew the pumpkin until dry and mash it.
Mix the pumpkin with milk and cream for a richer flavor.
Season the mixture with sugar and spices to taste.
Roll out the pie crust thicker than for fruit pies.
Fill the crust with the pumpkin mixture.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for about an hour, or longer if the pie is large and deep.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Pumpkin + nutmegtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,126 recipes
Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).
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Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,920 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Pumpkin + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,404 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).
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Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the pumpkin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, cream, sugar, nutmeg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Pumpkinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, cream, sugar, nutmeg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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