Why it works: Mushroom and rice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,515 recipes. Both carry 2,4-nonadienal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Minced Meat
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Mince the scraps of cold meat on a cutting board using a sharp knife.
Cook
Combine the minced meat with mushroom catsup or gravy in a saucepan, seasoning with pepper and salt.
Heat the saucepan on the stove until the meat is warmed through, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
Serve
Serve the mince on a hot dish, surrounded by boiled rice or mashed potatoes.
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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Mushroom + ricetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,515 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
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Mushroom + peppertop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together13,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Pepper + ricetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,379 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Meat + ricetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,481 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Meat + mushroomtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,423 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cold meat scraps
- Provide the main body of the dish, which is warmed through rather than fully cooked.
- Mushroom catsup
- Adds savory, umami depth and moisture to the minced meat.
- Rice or potatoes
- Serve as a starchy side that soaks up the savory sauce alongside the mince.
The step that matters
Heating the saucepan. Minced meat sticks and scorches easily on direct heat, so stirring occasionally and keeping the heat moderate helps it warm evenly without drying out or burning.
“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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