Why it works: Clove and cinnamon 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 ↓
Mock Mince Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the filling
In a large bowl, combine the crushed crackers, molasses, sugar, and butter or salt pork.
Add the eggs, cloves, cinnamon, and chopped raisins. Mix well.
Bake
Pour the mixture into pie crusts and bake for 30-40 minutes or until set.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Cinnamon + raisintop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Clove + raisintop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,070 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Molasses + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,225 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Crackers
- Crushed crackers soak up the liquids and give the filling body and a soft crumb.
- Molasses
- Adds dark sweetness and moisture, and a rich, slightly bitter flavour.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the filling brown as it bakes.
- Butter or salt pork
- Adds fat for richness and a tender texture.
- Eggs
- Bind the filling and help it set into a firm, sliceable custard-like mass.
- Chopped raisins
- Add chewy texture and concentrated fruit sweetness.
The step that matters
Bake until set. Eggs set as their proteins coagulate with heat. Underbaking leaves the filling loose and runny, while overbaking can make it dry and cracked, so check for a firm centre at the lower end of the time range.
Swap the clove
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, sugar, butter, egg, cinnamon, raisin):
- Nutmegfits better
- Clovethe original
- Allspicefits about as well
- Cardamomfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, sugar, butter, egg, cinnamon, raisin. 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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