Why it works: Sugar and molasses are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,225 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Raisin 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
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the filling
In a bowl, combine chopped raisins, chopped apples, sugar, molasses, egg, vinegar, melted butter, salt, and spice, and mix well until all ingredients are combined.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a pie crust and bake for 30-40 minutes or until set.
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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Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Raisin + molassestop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,577 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Raisin + appletop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,920 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Raisin + sugartop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together12,481 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Raisins
- Provide chewy texture and concentrated sweetness in the filling.
- Apples
- Add moisture and body so the filling stays juicy rather than dry.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the filling brown slightly as it bakes.
- Molasses
- Adds dark color, deep flavor, and extra sweetness with some moisture.
- Egg
- Binds the filling and helps it set as the pie bakes.
The step that matters
Bake until set. Pulling the pie too early leaves the egg-thickened filling runny, because the egg proteins need heat to coagulate and firm the mixture. Bake until the center is set, rather than relying only on the time range.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, sugar, molasses, egg, vinegar, butter):
- Figfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Currantfits about as well
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, sugar, molasses, egg, vinegar, 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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