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Mince Meat

A savory mixture of lean beef, raisins, currants, suet, apples, spices, cider, and brandy, left to mature for weeks.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 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 ↓

Mince Meat

Ingredients

Directions

Make the mincemeat

  1. Mix the beef, raisins, currants, suet, apples, salt, brown sugar, cinnamon, allspice, and cloves thoroughly.

  2. Add the scalding hot sweet apple cider and mix well.

  3. Once mixed, add the brandy.

  4. Adjust spices and cider as necessary.

Age

  1. Let the mixture stand in a crock for 3 weeks 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. Allspice + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

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

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

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

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

What each ingredient does

Boiled beef
Provides the meaty base and bulk that the fruit and spices are mixed into.
Suet
Adds fat that keeps the filling moist and rich in texture.
Raisins
Add concentrated sweetness and chewy body.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and helps preserve the mixture.
Sweet apple cider
Supplies liquid and fruity flavor that moistens the mixture.
Brandy
Adds alcohol that aids preservation and contributes aroma.

The step that matters

Let the mixture stand 3 weeks. Resting lets the spices, fruit, cider and brandy blend and mellow, and the alcohol and sugar help keep the mixture from spoiling. Using it too early gives harsher, less cohesive flavor.

Swap the currant

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

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

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, raisin, apple, sugar, cinnamon, allspice, 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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