Why it works: Apple and cinnamon are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,598 recipes. Both carry methyl cinnamate, which smells strawberry. The science ↓
Stuffed Apples
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the filling
Core and pare the apples, removing all cores.
In a bowl, mix sugar, cinnamon, and lemon rind with the bread crumbs.
Melt the butter and pour it over the crumbs, tossing with a fork.
Fill the cavity of each apple with the crumb mixture and place some on top.
Squeeze a little lemon juice over the apples.
Bake and serve
Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of sugar in the spaces between the apples and add 1 teaspoon of water for every 2 apples.
Place the apples in a baking pan and cook in a 400°F (200°C) oven until soft but not falling apart.
Cover the crumbs with buttered paper or another pan initially, then brown them at the end.
Serve hot or cold, with sweetened cream or creamy sauce if desired.
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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Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,598 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Cinnamon + lemontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Apple + breadtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,790 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Sugar and cinnamon 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
- Tart apples
- Provide the fruit that softens during baking and holds the crumb filling.
- Bread crumbs
- Absorb the butter and juices and form a filling that browns on top.
- Butter
- Adds richness and helps the crumbs brown as they bake.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the crumb topping brown.
- Lemon
- Adds acidity and aroma that brighten the sweet filling.
The step that matters
Covering the crumbs before browning. Covering the crumbs at first keeps them from scorching while the apples soften, and uncovering them at the end lets the sugar and butter brown properly.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apple, butter, bread, sugar, cinnamon):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Pearfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against apple, butter, bread, 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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