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Mince Meat for Pies

A savory pie filling made with boiled beef, suet, apples, raisins, currants, citron, spices, and sweetened with brandy, wine, sugar, molasses, cider, and orange.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 20 ingredients
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Why it works: Currant and brandy are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,057 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Mince Meat for Pies

Ingredients

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, combine the chopped beef, suet, apples, raisins, currants, and citron.

  2. Add the brandy, wine, sugar, molasses, boiled cider, sour cider, salt, cloves, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, beef broth, orange juice, and grated orange rind. Mix thoroughly and cook until the apples are tender.

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. Currant + brandytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Brandy + winetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,427 recipes

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

  3. Apple + winetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,207 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

  4. Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,180 recipes

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

  5. Apple + brandytop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,291 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

What each ingredient does

Beef
Provides the meaty body and bulk of the filling.
Suet
Adds fat that keeps the filling moist and rich in flavor.
Apples
Contribute tartness and moisture, softening as they cook.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps preserve the filling.
Molasses
Adds dark color, deep sweetness and a rich flavor.
Brandy
Adds aroma and flavor while helping preserve the filling.

The step that matters

Cook until the apples are tender. Apples must soften fully so the filling becomes cohesive and the pieces cook evenly; undercooked apples stay firm and tart, while prolonged heating can break them down and dry the mixture.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, apple, raisin, brandy, wine, sugar, molasses):

  1. Figfits better
  2. Grapefits better
  3. Pearfits better
  4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, apple, raisin, brandy, wine, sugar, molasses. 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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