Why it works: Pistachio and nuts match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 425 recipes. Both carry alpha-pinene, which smells pine, turpentine. The science ↓
Egg Mince Meat
Ingredients
Directions
Chop six hard boiled eggs very fine, double the quantity of beef suet, one pound of currants, mince the peel of two lemons, six tablespoonfuls of sweet wine, a little mace, nutmeg and salt to taste, add one-quarter of a pound candied orange and citron, cut into thin slices, mix well together and press it into a jar until needed. Add apple as for pies made with meat. S.
One lemon grated whole, one cup raisins, seeded and chopped fine, one-half cup sugar, one egg, one tablespoonful cracker dust, bake in " turnovers" or patty pans or better still, roll trimmings of puff paste as thin as possible, put a layer on a baking sheet, spread with above mixture and cover with another flat of paste. Mark off with a pastry jagger in strips four inch long by two inch wide and bake in a quick oven. These are nice with a thin icing and are delicious with cocoa for lunch. Another, richer filling is made by chopping very fine one-quarter pound figs, two ounces citron, one-quarter cup pistachio nuts (or almonds), two ounces seeded raisins, add one egg well beaten and use like the above.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 10 of 11 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Pistachio | 1 oz (28g / ~49 kernels) | 159 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Cracker | 5 saltine crackers (15g) | 66 |
| Grape | 1/2 cup (76g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Fig | 1 medium (50g) | 37 |
| Wine | 2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml) | 25 |
| Lemon | juice of 1 lemon (48ml) | 12 |
| Nutmeg | 1 tsp ground (2.2g) | 12 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Mace | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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.
-
Pistachio + nutstop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together425 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
-
Fig + pistachiotop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together29 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
-
Raisin + figtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together737 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Raisin + pistachiotop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together63 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
-
Raisin + nutstop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together490 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (wine, raisin, sugar, fig, pistachio, nuts, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Cherryfits better
- Apricotfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against wine, raisin, sugar, fig, pistachio, nuts, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
You might also like
The free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipes
Red Currant Jelly65 recipes