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Mince Meat

A mixture of cooked beef, suet, apples, raisins, spices, and sweet cider, cooked until apples are done.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 13 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Mince Meat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Chop the cooked beef and suet finely.

  2. Chop the apples and citron.

Cook

  1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot.

  2. Cook the mixture until the apples are done.

Finish

  1. Add any additional fruit, jam, or jelly as 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. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Allspice + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,331 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

What each ingredient does

Cooked beef
Provides bulk and a savory, meaty body to the filling.
Suet
Adds fat for richness and a moist, silky texture.
Apples
Soften during cooking to add moisture, body, and a tart fruitiness.
Raisins
Add sweetness and chewy texture throughout the mixture.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and helps give the filling a deep, caramel-like flavor.
Sweet cider or vinegar
Adds liquid to keep the mixture moist and contributes acidity and fruit flavor.

The step that matters

Cook until the apples are done. The apples must soften fully so the mixture becomes uniform and spreadable. Undercooked apples stay firm and chunky, while overcooking or too little stirring can scorch the sugar-rich mixture on the bottom of the pot.

Swap the apple

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

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

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, raisin, sugar, cinnamon, clove, allspice, nutmeg. 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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