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Dessert

Mincemeat.

A preserved mixture of apples, currants, suet, raisins, sugar, candied peel, lemon, spices, and brandy.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and clove 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 ↓

Mincemeat.

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Mix all ingredients well together.

  2. Press into a jar and cover closely.

  3. Store in a cool, dry 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 + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,390 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

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

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

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

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  5. Clove + macetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,400 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

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

What each ingredient does

Apples
Provide bulk and moisture, softening into the body of the mincemeat.
Suet
Adds richness and fat that keeps the mixture moist and mellow as it matures.
Castor sugar
Adds sweetness and helps preserve the mixture.
Raisins
Add chewy texture and concentrated sweetness.
Brandy
Adds aroma and helps preserve the mixture during storage.
Currants
Add tart, chewy texture and concentrated fruit flavour.

The step that matters

Store in a cool, dry place for at least one month before using.. Resting lets the spices, fruit, brandy and suet meld and mellow, while the sugar and alcohol help keep the mixture from spoiling. Using it too early gives harsher, less balanced flavour.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (apple, currant, raisin, sugar, lemon, cinnamon, clove):

  1. Nutmegfits better
  2. Allspicefits better
  3. Cardamomfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against apple, currant, raisin, sugar, lemon, cinnamon, 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.

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