Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg 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 Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the filling
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a large bowl, combine the boiled pumpkin, sugar, eggs, molasses, melted butter, and milk. Mix well until smooth.
Beat the egg whites separately until stiff peaks form, then gently fold them into the pumpkin mixture.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a pie crust and sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.
Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the filling is set and the top is golden brown.
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 + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 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 + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Milk + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,655 recipes
Shared aroma: cuminaldehyde (Spicy, cumin).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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
- Boiled pumpkin
- Provides the main body and flavour of the filling.
- Eggs
- Set the filling into a firm custard as they cook.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps it brown on top.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and liquid that the eggs set within.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth, tender texture.
The step that matters
Folding in the beaten egg whites. Stiff whites hold air that lightens the filling, but overmixing or deflating them makes the pie dense. Fold gently with a spatula, just until no white streaks remain.
Swap the pumpkin
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, molasses, butter, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits better
- Figfits better
- Pumpkinthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, molasses, butter, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg. 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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