Name: Recipe for Mixce Meat
Ingredients: two pounds of meat; one pound beef suet; three pounds of sweet apples; three pounds of sour apples; four pounds of raisins; two pounds of currants; one pound of citron; one-half pound of lemon peel; one tablespoonful salt; one teaspoonful pepper; one tablespoonful ground cloves; one tablespoonful nutmeg; one tablespoonful mace; one tablespoonful allspice; two tablespoonfuls cinnamon; three pounds brown sugar; two quarts sweet cider; one quart boiled cider; one quart currant juice; one quart cherry juice

Why it works: Meat and beef are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 2,531 recipes mention both. Both carry 3-methylbutanol, which smells malty, whiskey. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.

Meat + beeftop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together2,531 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-methylbutanol (malty, whiskey).
Lemon + peppertop 2% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together27,039 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Pepper + clovetop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together13,144 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Apple + clovetop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together2,615 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Raisin + curranttop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapmoderate

Mentioned together6,180 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).

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

What each ingredient does

Meat: Provides the savory body and bulk of the filling.
Beef suet: Adds richness and fat that gives the mincemeat a moist, rounded texture.
Sour apples: Contribute acidity and pectin that help the filling hold its body.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and depth, and helps preserve the mixture.
Raisins: Add concentrated sweetness and chewy texture.

The step that matters

Let it come to a boil. Bringing the mixture to a boil heats it through so the sugar and fruit can preserve it. Stirring prevents scorching on the bottom of the kettle, which would give a burnt flavor.

Flavor stand-ins for the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, beef, apple, currant, lemon, pepper, clove):

Orangebetter flavor fit
Red currantbetter flavor fit
Figbetter flavor fit
Raisinthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against meat, beef, apple, currant, lemon, pepper, clove. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).

“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.

Recipe for Mixce Meat

The recipe

Ingredients

Directions