Why it works: Raisin and flour match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,075 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Raisin Nut Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the filling
Boil the raisins and water for 3 minutes.
Using a strainer spoon, remove the raisins, leaving the sand settled at the bottom.
Strain the liquid into another bowl, discarding the sand.
Return the liquid and raisins to the heat, then add the sugar, flour, and salt.
Stir until thick, then remove from heat and add the butter and nuts.
Assemble and bake
Line a pie pan with pastry, flouring the bottom.
Pour the mixture into the pie pan and cover with a top crust like an apple pie.
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for the first 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F (175°C) for the remaining baking time.
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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Raisin + flourtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together9,075 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + pecanstop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,416 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Butter and flour 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
- Raisins
- Provide the main body of the filling and sweetness as they soften and release their sugars.
- Flour
- Thickens the cooking liquid into a thick filling as it heats with the sugar.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the filling and helps it thicken into a glossy, spreadable texture.
- Pecans
- Add crunch and a toasty, nutty flavor that contrasts with the soft filling.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, rounded flavor to the finished filling.
The step that matters
Stir the filling until thick. Flour needs to be stirred over heat until the liquid visibly thickens, because the starch must swell to set the filling. If the filling is removed too early it will stay runny and soak the crust, and if it is cooked too long it can become stiff and pasty.
Swap the pecans
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, butter, sugar, flour):
- Almondfits better
- Chestnutfits better
- Pistachiofits better
- Pecansthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, butter, sugar, 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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