Name: Mince Pies
Ingredients: Mince meat, sufficient amount; Puff or short pastry, for lining; Butter, for greasing; Powdered white sugar, for sprinkling

Why it works: Meat and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,594 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓

Mince Pies

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderately quick oven

Ingredients

Mince meat, sufficient amount
Puff or short pastry, for lining
Butter, for greasing
Powdered white sugar, for sprinkling

Directions

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

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Roll out the pastry to a suitable thickness.
Grease the patty pans with butter and line them with the pastry.
Fill each pastry shell with sufficient mince meat.
Make lids from the pastry, cover the pies, and press the edges lightly.
Trim the edges neatly with a knife.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden.
Once done, sprinkle with powdered white sugar.

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.

Meat + buttertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,594 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together98,233 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Meat + sugartop 34% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together2,866 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).