Name: Roasted Butternut Squash Recipe
Yield: 3 - 4 servings
Ingredients: 6 cups of 1-inch cubed squash (acorn or butternut); 6 pieces whole star anise, or 6 whole cloves; 3 tablespoons butter; 3 tablespoons maple syrup; 3 sticks cinnamon; 6 strips of orange zest and juice of the orange; 3 sprigs of thyme or sage; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 6 pieces whole star anise, or 6 whole cloves

Why it works: Star anise and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 312 recipes. Both carry 4-methoxybenzaldehyde, which smells sweet, anise. The science ↓

Roasted Butternut Squash Recipe

3 - 4 servings

Ingredients

6 cups of 1-inch cubed squash (acorn or butternut)
6 pieces whole star anise, or 6 whole cloves
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons maple syrup
3 sticks cinnamon
6 strips of orange zest and juice of the orange
3 sprigs of thyme or sage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 pieces whole star anise, or 6 whole cloves

Directions

Step-by-step directions aren't available for this recipe. See the full recipe at the source →

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

241Calories

2 gProtein

12 gFat

35 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 13 ingredients. The other 4 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Orange	1 medium (131g)	62
Maple Syrup	1 tbsp (20ml)	52
Clove	1 tsp ground (2g)	7
Cinnamon	1 tsp ground (2.6g)	6
Black Pepper	1 tsp ground (2.3g)	6
Thyme	1 tsp dried (1.4g)	4
Sage	1 tsp ground (0.7g)	2
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Pumpkin	not in our table	0
Acorn	not in our table	0
Butternut	not in our table	0
Star Anise	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By chow. Recipe from Open Recipes.

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.

Star anise + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together312 recipes

Shared aroma: 4-methoxybenzaldehyde (sweet, anise).
Star anise + thymetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together109 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Cinnamon + orangetop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,437 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Star anise + orangetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together138 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Thyme + peppertop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,585 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the acorn

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (star anise, butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, orange, thyme, pepper):

Almondfits better
Chestnutfits better
Walnutfits better
Acornthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against star anise, butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, orange, thyme, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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