Skip to main content
Main

Rich Mince Meat

A preserved meat mixture of tongue, suet, apples, raisins, currants, spices, sugar, citron, almonds, rose water, and port wine.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 14 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Nutmeg and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,686 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Rich Mince Meat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the tongue

  1. Boil the tongue until tender.

  2. Let the tongue cool.

  3. Remove the skin and fat from the tongue.

  4. Mince the tongue very fine.

Prepare the fruit and suet

  1. Finely chop the suet and apples.

  2. Prepare the raisins and currants.

Mix and store

  1. Mix the minced tongue, suet, apples, raisins, currants, lemon juice and rind, nutmeg, cloves, mace, sugar, citron, and almonds.

  2. Moisten the mixture with rose water and port wine or brandy.

  3. Pack the mixture tightly in a container.

  4. Cover the container well.

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

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  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 + clovetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,774 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

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

What each ingredient does

Tongue
Provides the meaty base that gives the mincemeat its body and savory depth.
Suet
Adds fat that keeps the filling moist and rich in texture.
Apples
Contribute moisture, tartness and bulk to the filling.
Raisins
Add concentrated sweetness and chewy texture.
White sugar
Sweetens the filling and helps preserve it.
Sweet almonds
Add richness and a soft, nutty texture.

The step that matters

Pack the mixture tightly in a container. Packing removes air pockets, and a tightly covered container limits oxidation and spoilage, helping the mincemeat keep its flavor and texture during storage.

Swap the currant

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

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

Fit is the average pairing score against apple, raisin, lemon, nutmeg, clove, mace, sugar. 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 mincemeat recipes

Mock Pie 26Pie 21Lemon 15Fritters 14Green Tomato 13Pies 13 See all 120 →

You might also like

Lemon SauceLemon Sauce236 recipesAlmond SoupAlmond Soup60 recipesApple SoupApple Soup33 recipesRose Waska Potato SaladRose Waska Potato Salad7 recipes