Name: Mince Meat Foe Pies
Ingredients: 5 pounds beef; 3 pounds suet; 3 pounds raisins; 3 pounds currants; ½ peck apples (about 12-15 apples); 1 pint brandy; 1 tablespoon salt; 2 pounds sugar; 2 teaspoons cinnamon; 2 teaspoons allspice; 2 teaspoons ginger; 2 teaspoons cloves; 4 grated nutmegs; 1 cup molasses; 1 cup beef broth

Why it works: Cinnamon and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,536 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. 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 + allspicetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together5,536 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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).
Currant + brandytop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together3,057 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Currant + allspicetop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,359 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl benzoate (fruity, sweet).

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

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, raisin, apple, brandy, sugar, cinnamon, allspice):

Figfits better
Vanillafits better
Orangefits better
Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, raisin, apple, brandy, sugar, cinnamon, allspice. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Mince Meat Foe Pies