Name: Another Mince Meat Recipe
Ingredients: 2 lbs chopped suet; 2 lbs chopped apples; 2 lbs chopped Valencia raisins; 2 lbs chopped sultana raisins; 2 lbs brown sugar; 2 lbs currants; 3 lemons, juiced and zested; 1 lb citron peel, chopped; 1 lb candied lemon peel, chopped; 1 lb candied orange peel, chopped; 1 nutmeg, grated; 1 teaspoon salt; 4 oz sweet almonds, chopped; 2 teaspoons mixed spice; ½ cup brandy; ½ cup sherry

Why it works: Lemon and orange match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,634 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

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.

Lemon + orangetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,634 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Raisin + almondtop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,781 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Nutmeg + almondtop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,115 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,318 recipes

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

Chopped suet: Adds fat and richness, keeping the mince moist and rounding out the flavour.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and a molasses note, and helps preserve the mixture.
Chopped apples: Adds moisture and tartness, balancing the sweetness of the dried fruit.
Chopped valencia raisins: Adds chewy texture and concentrated sweetness.
Chopped sultana raisins: Adds chewy texture and concentrated sweetness.
Brandy: Adds aroma and acts as a preservative, helping the mixture keep.

Swap the currant

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

Figfits better
Cranberryfits better
Vanillafits better
Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against apple, raisin, sugar, lemon, orange, nutmeg, almond. 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.