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Mince Meat

A spiced beef and fruit mixture used for pies.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Mince Meat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Prepare the mince at least a day before using it.

  2. Combine the beef, suet, apples, raisins, Sultana raisins, currants, citron, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cloves, allspice, salt, brown sugar, boiled cider, and pickled blackberries in a large bowl, and mix well until all ingredients are evenly combined.

Store and serve

  1. Store it in a stone jar with a tight cover and a bladder tied over the top.

  2. Bake the pies one day before serving.

  3. Warm the pies slightly before serving.

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. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Nutmeg + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,686 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

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

  5. Nutmeg + macetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,557 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

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

What each ingredient does

Lean fresh beef
Provides the meaty body and bulk of the mince filling.
Beef suet
Adds richness and fat that keeps the filling moist and tender.
Apples
Contribute moisture, tartness and body to the filling.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and depth, and helps preserve the mince.
Boiled cider
Adds concentrated apple sweetness and acidity for a tangy flavor.
Raisins
Add concentrated sweetness and chewy texture throughout the filling.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, apple, raisin, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, clove):

  1. Figfits better
  2. Quincefits better
  3. Orangefits better
  4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, apple, raisin, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, 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.

More mince meat recipes

Pie Filling 11Pie 10with Apples 9Preserved 8Apple 7Mock 7 See all 183 →

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