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Mince Meat

A preserved mixture of beef, suet, fruit, spices, and alcohol, stored in a jar for later use.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 17 ingredients
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Why it works: Nutmeg and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Mince Meat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the ingredients

  1. Cover the beef with boiling water and simmer gently until tender, then let it cool.

  2. Shred the suet and chop it very fine.

  3. Pare, core, and chop the apples.

  4. Stone the raisins and shred the citron.

Mix and pack

  1. Once the meat is cold, chop it fine and mix in all the dry ingredients.

  2. Add the juice and rinds of the lemons and oranges, and mix well.

  3. Pack the mixture into a stone jar and pour over the sherry and brandy.

Store and use

  1. Cover closely and store in a cool place.

  2. When ready to use, dip out the required quantity and thin with cider or wine.

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 + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 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 + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,598 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  4. Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,318 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  5. Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).

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

What each ingredient does

Beef
Provides the meaty bulk and body of the mincemeat after it is cooked and chopped.
Beef suet
Adds richness and a soft, moist texture as it blends into the filling.
Apples
Contribute moisture, tartness and body to the mixture.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps preserve the mixture.
Sherry
Adds aroma and acts as a preservative that keeps the mixture stable in storage.
Brandy
Adds aroma and helps preserve the mixture during storage.

The step that matters

Store in a cool place, covered. Sugar and alcohol preserve the mincemeat, but the jar must be sealed closely so it does not spoil or dry out while it matures.

Swap the currant

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

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

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, lemon, raisin, apple, sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon. 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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