Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Sugar 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.
Make the filling and crust
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, beat together brown sugar, melted butter, sweet milk, eggs, and vanilla or lemon extract until well combined.
Prepare the crust by mixing flour, lard, ice water, and salt until just combined; do not knead too much.
Assemble
Roll out the crust and place it in a pie dish.
Pour the sugar mixture into the crust.
Bake and chill
Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until set.
For best results, chill the pie in the refrigerator for 2 hours before serving.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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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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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Vanilla + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Bind the filling and set into a firm custard as it bakes.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and a deep caramel flavor to the filling.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat and richness, giving the filling a smooth, tender texture.
- Sweet milk
- Provides the liquid that turns the filling into a creamy custard.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the structure of the crust.
- Lard
- Creates a tender, flaky crust by coating flour particles in fat.
The step that matters
Mixing the crust. Overworking the dough develops gluten, which makes the crust tough instead of tender. Keeping the mix just combined, with cold ice water and lard, preserves the flaky texture.
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, milk, egg, flour):
- Vanillathe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Figfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, milk, egg, flour. 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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