Why it works: Cinnamon and clove 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 ↓
Mock Mince Pie
Ingredients
Directions
Pour boiling water over the rolled cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar.
Add the stoned raisins, vinegar, molasses, grated orange rind, and spices.
Mix well until combined.
Let cool before filling the pie crust.
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.
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Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
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Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,390 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Orange + cinnamontop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,437 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Orange + clovetop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,987 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
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Raisin + clovetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked 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
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, sugar, vinegar, molasses, butter, cinnamon, clove):
- Figfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Applefits about as well
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, sugar, vinegar, molasses, butter, cinnamon, clove. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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