Name: Mince Peas
Ingredients: Puff paste (see recipe No. 397); Mince meat (see recipe No. 434); 1 egg white; 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Why it works: Egg and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Mince Peas

Oven, in the book's wordsA brisk oven

Ingredients

Puff paste (see recipe No. 397)
Mince meat (see recipe No. 434)
1 egg white
2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Directions

The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Make puff paste and roll it out to about ¼ inch thick.
Line patty tins with the rolled-out paste.
Fill the tins with mince meat and cover with more paste.
Trim the edges of the paste close to the edge of the tin.
Bake in a brisk oven at 400°F (200°C) for 30 minutes or longer for larger pies.
Beat the egg white until stiff and brush it over the pies.
Sprinkle with powdered sugar and return to the oven for 1-2 minutes to dry the egg.
Serve the pies hot on a white plate.

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.

Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together122,807 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Meat + eggtop 22% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,432 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Meat + sugartop 34% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,866 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).