Why it works: Cinnamon and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,536 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
A Kentucky Girl's Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the pumpkin
Cut the pumpkin in half and remove the seeds.
Place the pumpkin halves skin side down in a dripping pan and bake at 300°F (150°C) until the pulp can be easily scraped from the skin.
Mash the pumpkin finely while it is still hot and add 4 tablespoons of butter for each quart of pumpkin.
Make the filling
Once cooled, sweeten to taste and mix in 1 pint of cream or new milk.
Add the beaten and strained egg yolks, cinnamon, allspice, and ginger if desired.
Stir in ⅓ cup of brandy if using, and mix well.
Finally, fold in the whipped egg whites gently.
Bake
Pour the mixture into deep pie plates and bake 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 + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,536 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together6,380 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Allspice + gingertop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,620 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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Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pumpkin
- Provides the main body and flavor of the filling once mashed smooth.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the filling and help it set firm when baked.
- Egg whites
- Whipped air lightens the filling and adds structure as it bakes.
- Cream or new milk
- Adds richness and moisture, softening the set texture of the custard.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smoother, silkier mouthfeel.
The step that matters
Fold in the whipped egg whites gently. Deflating the whipped whites by stirring hard removes the air that lightens the filling, leaving a denser, less airy pie.
Swap the ginger
The recipe marks ginger as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (pumpkin, butter, cream, egg, cinnamon, allspice, brandy):
- Nutmegfits better
- Clovefits better
- Cardamomfits about as well
- Gingerthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against pumpkin, butter, cream, egg, cinnamon, allspice, brandy. 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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