Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon 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 Pies
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the pumpkin
Pare the pumpkin and cut it into 1‑inch square pieces.
Place the pumpkin in a pot with a little water over medium heat.
Once it begins to soften, reduce to low heat and stir frequently until all the water evaporates.
Rub the cooked pumpkin through a colander.
Make the filling
In a bowl, beat the eggs, then add the milk, spices, salt, and melted butter.
Add sugar to taste and enough stewed pumpkin to achieve a custard‑like consistency.
Pour the mixture into pie crusts and bake 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.
-
Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Cinnamon + pumpkintop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,744 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
-
Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
- Eggs
- Set the custard structure as they cook, holding the filling together.
- Sweet milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard and adds richness and softness.
- Stewed pumpkin
- Provides body, flavour and the custard-like consistency of the filling.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smoother, richer texture and flavour.
The step that matters
Reduce the pumpkin until the water evaporates. Excess water left in the pumpkin thins the custard, so it may not set firmly when baked. Cooking it down on low heat concentrates the pumpkin and gives a thick, stable filling.
Swap the pumpkin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, egg, nutmeg, cinnamon, butter, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Pumpkinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, egg, nutmeg, cinnamon, butter, sugar. 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.
More pumpkin pie recipes
You might also like
Cinnamon Rolls71 recipes
Cinnamon Cake42 recipes
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.