Skip to main content
Main

Mince Meat

A stew of chopped meat, apples, sweet cider, molasses, brown sugar, spices, raisins, currants, and optional brandy.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Clove and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Mince Meat

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a large pot, combine the chopped meat, chopped apples, sweet cider, molasses, brown sugar, salt, cloves, cinnamon, black pepper, nutmegs, raisins, and currants.

  2. Stew the mixture thoroughly over low heat until well combined.

  3. Once cool, stir in the brandy if desired.

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. Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Apple + cidertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,238 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  3. Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,598 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  4. Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together17,451 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  5. Apple + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,774 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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

What each ingredient does

Chopped meat
Forms the savory base and gives the stew its body and substance.
Chopped apples
Add moisture and tartness that soften into the stew as it cooks.
Molasses
Adds dark sweetness and a deep, rich flavour.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and caramel notes that balance the spices.
Raisins
Add concentrated sweetness and chewy texture.

The step that matters

Stew over low heat until well combined. Gentle, low heat lets the mixture blend evenly and softens the fruit and meat without scorching the sugars and molasses on the bottom of the pot.

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, cider, molasses, sugar, clove, cinnamon, pepper):

  1. Applethe original
  2. Figfits about as well
  3. Raisinfits about as well
  4. Orangefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against meat, cider, molasses, sugar, clove, cinnamon, pepper. 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.

You might also like

Meat CroquettesMeat Croquettes52 recipesMeatballsMeatballs37 recipesMince MeatMince Meat37 recipesMeat CakesMeat Cakes35 recipes