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Mince Pies

A savory pastry filled with a mixture of beef, suet, apples, raisins, currants, and spices.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 18 ingredients
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Mince Pies

Why it works: Lemon and ginger match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,154 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Mince Pies

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the filling

  1. Par-roast or slightly bake the beef and suet.

  2. Chop the beef and suet finely.

  3. In a large bowl, combine the beef, suet, apples, raisins, currants, sugar, citron, and candied peel.

  4. Mix in the grated nutmeg, salt, ginger, coriander, allspice, cloves, lemon juice, and grated lemon rinds.

  5. Add the brandy and sweet or ginger wine, mixing well.

  6. Store the mixture covered in a cool place until ready to use.

  7. When ready, stir the mixture and add a little more brandy if desired.

Bake and serve

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

  2. Cover pie dishes with pastry, fill with the mince mixture, and cover with more pastry, sealing the edges.

  3. Bake for 30 minutes and serve hot.

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.

Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it

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. Lemon + gingertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,154 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  2. Nutmeg + gingertop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,324 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,318 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

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

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

  5. Apple + gingertop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,424 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

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 of the filling, giving it substance once par-roasted and chopped.
Beef suet
Adds fat that keeps the filling moist and rich as it bakes.
Apples
Contribute moisture and tartness that balance the sweetness of the fruit and sugar.
Raisins
Add concentrated sweetness and chewy texture to the filling.
Currants
Add tart, chewy fruit flavour and body to the filling.
Brandy
Adds aroma and helps preserve the mixture while it stands before baking.

The step that matters

Storing the mixture covered in a cool place. Resting the mince lets the spirits, sugar and spices soak into the fruit and meat, blending the flavours. Keeping it covered and cool slows spoilage while it matures.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, apple, raisin, sugar, lemon, nutmeg, ginger):

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

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, apple, raisin, sugar, lemon, nutmeg, ginger. 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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