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 ↓
Mincemeat
Ingredients
Directions
Combine the chopped green tomatoes, brown sugar, salt, cloves, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, raisins, and vinegar in a large pot.
Cook the mixture slowly for three hours, stirring occasionally.
Once cooked, transfer the mincemeat into glass jars and seal as usual.
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.
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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,874 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,536 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Allspice + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked 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
- Green tomatoes
- Form the bulk of the mincemeat, providing body that the long cooking softens into a thick filling.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps preserve the mixture during long cooking.
- Raisins
- Add concentrated sweetness and chewy texture as they plump in the cooking liquid.
- Vinegar
- Adds acidity that brightens the sweet filling and helps keep it stable.
The step that matters
Cook the mixture slowly for three hours, stirring occasionally. Slow cooking lets the tomatoes break down and the sugar and spices meld, while stirring prevents scorching on the bottom of the pot as the sugars concentrate.
Swap the tomato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, clove, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, raisin, vinegar):
- Arrowrootfits better
- Mustardfits better
- Sweet potatofits better
- Tomatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, clove, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, raisin, vinegar. 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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