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Mince Meat

A spiced mixture of beef, suet, candied beef, fruits, spices, and brandy, stored for at least a month.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 21 ingredients
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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 ↓

Mince Meat

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Chop the beef suet, candied beef, citron, and apples finely.

  2. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

Store

  1. Store in a cool place for at least one month before using.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Allspice + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,331 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Beef kidney suet
Adds fat for richness and a moist, tender texture.
Raisins
Provides sweetness and a chewy texture.
Currants
Adds sweetness and chewy texture throughout the mixture.
Apples
Contributes moisture and a tart, fresh flavour.
Brandy
Adds alcohol, which helps the mixture keep during storage and adds aroma.
Cinnamon
Adds warm, sweet spice aroma.

The step that matters

Store in a cool place for at least one month. During storage the spices, fruit, and brandy blend and mellow, so the flavour develops. Keeping it cool slows spoilage and helps the mixture stay stable until it is used.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, raisin, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, clove):

  1. Limefits better
  2. Orangefits better
  3. Figfits better
  4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, raisin, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, nutmeg, clove. 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.

More mince meat recipes

Pie Filling 11Pie 10with Apples 9Preserved 8Apple 7Mock 7 See all 183 →

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