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Mince-meat Foe, Pies

A mince meat mixture for pies, with beef, suet, raisins, currants, citron, candied peel, sugar, spices, cider, sherry, nutmegs, lemon rind, lemon juice, and apples.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 15 ingredients
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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 ↓

Mince-meat Foe, Pies

Ingredients

Directions

Make the mincemeat

  1. Mix the beef, suet, raisins, currants, citron, orange peel, dark brown sugar, ground cloves, ground cinnamon, sweet cider, sherry, grated nutmegs, lemon rind, and lemon juice thoroughly.

  2. For long-term storage, substitute brandy for sherry and ensure the mixture is moist enough to pack into a stone jar.

Store and use

  1. Cover the jar with a plate and secure it with double paper.

  2. When ready to use, add an equal measure of finely chopped apples to the mixture.

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.

  1. Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  2. Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,390 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  3. Orange + cinnamontop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,437 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Orange + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,987 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  5. Raisin + clovetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,070 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

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

What each ingredient does

Beef
Provides the meaty body and richness that give the filling its substance.
Suet
Adds fat that keeps the filling moist and rich as it stands.
Dark brown sugar
Adds sweetness and a molasses depth that helps preserve the mixture.
Raisins
Add chewy texture and natural sweetness to the filling.
Sweet cider
Supplies liquid that keeps the mixture moist enough to pack.
Sherry
Adds aroma and acidity, and its alcohol helps preserve the mixture.

The step that matters

Ensure the mixture is moist enough to pack. Alcohol and sugar help preserve the filling, but a dry mixture can spoil or develop gaps and air pockets in the jar. Enough liquid and fat keeps it dense and well sealed for storage.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, raisin, orange, sugar, clove, cinnamon, cider):

  1. Applefits better
  2. Figfits better
  3. Vanillafits better
  4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, raisin, orange, sugar, clove, cinnamon, cider. 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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