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Mince Meat

A suet and beef mixture with currants, raisins, citron, apples, peach preserves, brown sugar, spices, and brandy, cooked and jarred.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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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 ↓

Mince Meat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the ingredients

  1. Cook the beef until done.

  2. Chop the cooked beef finely.

  3. Peel the apples finely.

  4. Chop the peeled apples finely.

  5. Cut the raisins and citron into small pieces.

Cook and store

  1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot with the brandy.

  2. Cook the mixture well.

  3. Transfer the mixture to jars and seal.

  4. Mix with cider to taste.

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. Cinnamon + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,536 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,390 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  3. Apple + peachtop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together303 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,598 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  5. Peach + cinnamontop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together625 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

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

What each ingredient does

Suet
Adds richness and fat that keeps the filling moist and tender.
Beef
Provides a meaty body and bulk to the mixture.
Apples
Add moisture, tartness and body to the filling.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and a deep, molasses-like flavour.
Brandy
Acts as a preservative and adds aroma to the mixture.
Currants
Contribute sweetness, chewy texture and fruity flavour.

The step that matters

Cook the mixture well. Thorough cooking drives off excess moisture and blends the flavours, and it helps the mixture keep well once sealed in jars. Undercooked filling can spoil sooner.

Swap the currant

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

  1. Figfits better
  2. Vanillafits better
  3. Pearfits better
  4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, raisin, apple, peach, sugar, cinnamon, allspice. 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 mince meat recipes

Pie Filling 11Pie 10with Apples 9Preserved 8Apple 7Mock 7 See all 183 →

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