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Dessert

Mince Meat

A preserved fruit mixture of suet, apples, raisins, currants, citron, sugar, wine, brandy, cider, and spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 14 ingredients
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Why it works: Apple and cider are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,238 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓

Mince Meat

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly until well combined.

  2. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

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. Apple + cidertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,238 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  2. Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).

  3. Brandy + cidertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together404 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

  4. Currant + brandytop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together3,057 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  5. Wine + brandytop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,427 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

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

What each ingredient does

Suet
Adds fat and richness, keeping the mixture moist and tender.
Apples
Contribute moisture and tartness that balance the sweetness of the fruit mince.
Raisins
Add concentrated sweetness and chewy texture.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and a molasses note, and helps preserve the mixture.
Brandy
Adds alcohol that carries aroma and helps preserve the mixture.
Wine
Adds acidity and liquid, softening the dried fruit as it stands.

Swap the nutmeg

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

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Clovefits better
  3. Allspicefits about as well
  4. Nutmegthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against apple, raisin, currant, sugar, wine, brandy, 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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