Name: Mince Meat
Ingredients: 1 cup finely chopped cooked meat; 1 cup raisins, seeded and quartered; 1 cup currants; 3 cups chopped apples; 1 cup chopped cranberries; 1½ cups brown sugar or 1 cup granulated sugar and ½ cup molasses; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 teaspoons cinnamon; ½ teaspoon mace; ½ teaspoon powdered cloves; Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon; ½ pound diced citron; 2½ cups fruit juice or sweetened and spiced vinegar

Why it works: Cinnamon and clove 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 ↓

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.

Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together14,189 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,390 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,598 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).
Apple + clovetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,774 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Mace + clovetop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together8,400 recipes

Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

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

What each ingredient does

Cooked meat: Provides the savoury body and bulk that the fruit and sugar are added to.
Apples: Break down while cooking to give the mixture moisture and a soft, tender texture.
Raisins: Add concentrated sweetness and a chewy texture.
Currants: Add concentrated sweetness and a chewy texture.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and moisture, and helps the mixture thicken as it cooks.

The step that matters

Cook over medium heat until the apples are tender. Sugar and fruit scorch easily on the bottom of a pot when the heat is too high. Medium heat lets the apples soften fully and the sugars dissolve without burning.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (meat, raisin, currant, apple, sugar, cinnamon, clove):

Nutmegfits better
Allspicefits better
Gingerfits better
Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against meat, raisin, currant, apple, sugar, cinnamon, clove. 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.

Mince Meat

Mince Meat

Ingredients

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