Name: Mincemeat, Old-fashioned
Ingredients: 1 pound beef; 1 pound apples, chopped; 2 pounds suet, finely chopped; 2 pounds sugar; 2 pounds currants; 1 pound candied lemon or orange peel, chopped; ¼ pound citron, chopped; 1 ounce mixed spices; ½ ounce coarse sea salt; Rinds of 6 lemons, finely shredded; Brandy or wine, to taste

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 ↓

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.

Currant + brandytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,057 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Apple + brandytop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,291 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Apple + curranttop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,918 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).
Apple + lemontop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,551 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together16,478 recipes

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

Apple and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 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

Swap the lemon

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

Figfits better
Apricotfits better
Plumfits better
Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, apple, sugar, currant, brandy. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Mincemeat, Old-fashioned