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Mince Pies

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

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 Pies

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Stone and cut the raisins, but not too small.

  2. Cut the orange peel into small pieces.

  3. Mince the apples finely.

  4. Pound the almonds with a little white wine to a paste.

  5. Mix all ingredients thoroughly in a bowl.

  6. Add the white wine and brandy, mixing well.

  7. Pack the mixture tightly into small stone jars and cover with paper.

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.

  1. Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

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

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Almond + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,514 recipes

    Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).

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

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

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

Swap the apple

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, orange, almond, nutmeg, pepper, clove, cinnamon):

  1. Figfits better
  2. Limefits better
  3. Lemonfits better
  4. Applethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, orange, almond, nutmeg, pepper, clove, cinnamon. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

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