Why it works: Cinnamon and raisin are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,390 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
Apple Roll
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 roll
Prepare a plain pie crust larger than usual.
Chop the apples and cover the crust with them.
Add a layer of sugar and sprinkle with cinnamon.
Add a layer of raisins and sprinkle with chopped citron.
Roll the crust tightly and pinch the sides and ends to seal.
Bake and serve
Place the roll in a dripping pan with ½ cup of butter and 1 cup of sugar.
Pour enough boiling water over the roll to half cover it.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for three hours, basting every half hour.
Slice thin and serve.
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 + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,598 recipes
Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Apple + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,920 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + raisintop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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
- Apples
- Provide fruit bulk and tartness that balances the sweet sugar and butter.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, helping the roll brown and taste rounded as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and, with the butter, helps the surface caramelize and brown.
- Raisins
- Add concentrated sweetness and chewy moisture to the filling.
- Plain pie crust
- Encloses the filling and holds its shape while the roll bakes.
The step that matters
Basting the roll every half hour. Over a long three-hour bake, the surface can dry out and brown unevenly. Regular basting with the butter, sugar and liquid in the pan keeps the crust moist and promotes even browning.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, cinnamon, raisin, butter):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Applethe original
- Orangefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, cinnamon, raisin, butter. 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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