Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Dutch Apple Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Line a large deep pie pan with the crust.
Mix flour, nutmeg or cinnamon, and ¾ cup sugar; pour into the crust.
Arrange the apple slices nicely in the crust.
Sprinkle ¼ cup sugar over the apples.
Pour 1 cup of cream or milk around the apples and dot with butter.
Bake
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C), removing the grate from the bottom.
If apples are not soft enough, cover with oiled paper for a few minutes.
If using out-of-season apples, use Winesaps or Ganos, sliced.
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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Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Nutmeg + appletop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,790 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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 the fruit body and tartness that soften during baking to form the filling.
- Cream or milk
- Adds richness and moisture that bakes into a custard-like set around the apples.
- Flour
- Thickens the juices and cream so the filling sets rather than running out.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps draw out juices from the apples as they bake.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a softer, more tender flavor in the filling.
The step that matters
Checking apple softness before finishing. Apples that are still firm will stay tough and crisp while the custard sets, so they need to be tender before the pie is done. Covering loosely with oiled paper helps them soften without over-browning the top.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, nutmeg, sugar, cream, butter):
- Raisinfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against flour, nutmeg, sugar, cream, 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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