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Preserve

Mince Meat

A preserved mixture of apples, raisins, currants, suet, sugar, wine and spices, packed into jars and left to stand before use.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Raisin and almond are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,781 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓

Mince Meat

Ingredients

Directions

Mix and pack

  1. Mix together the chopped apples, raisins, currants, candied peel, suet, lemon rind and juice, blanched almonds, spices, and sugar.

  2. Add the port wine and brandy, and mix thoroughly.

  3. Pack the mixture into jars or a large stone crock.

Mature

  1. Let it stand for several weeks before using.

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. Raisin + almondtop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,781 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).

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

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Clove + macetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together8,400 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyleugenol (clove, spice).

  4. Raisin + clovetop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,070 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  5. Lemon + clovetop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,150 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

What each ingredient does

Apples
Provide moisture and bulk, giving the mincemeat its soft, moist body.
Suet
Adds fat that keeps the filling moist and rich in texture.
Raisins
Add sweetness and a chewy texture throughout the mixture.
Currants
Contribute sweetness and small pockets of chewy fruit texture.
Powdered sugar
Adds sweetness and helps balance the tartness of the fruit.
Port wine
Adds depth of flavour and aroma to the fruit mixture.

The step that matters

Letting it stand for several weeks. During standing, the spices, fruit, and alcohol slowly blend and mellow, so the flavour becomes rounder and less sharp. Using it too early tastes harsher and less integrated.

Swap the mace

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

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Nutmegfits better
  3. Cardamomfits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against apple, raisin, almond, sugar, port wine, lemon, clove. 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.

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