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Dessert

Mincemeat

A preserved mixture of suet, dried fruit, spices, and alcohol.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 16 ingredients
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Why it works: Clove and allspice match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,874 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Mincemeat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Chop the suet and apples very finely.

  2. Chop the candied peel and almonds.

  3. Stone the raisins and chop them roughly.

  4. Grate the lemon rind and mix all the dry ingredients.

Combine and preserve

  1. Strain into the lemon juice, then add the brandy and sherry.

  2. Press into jars, cover the surface with white paper soaked in brandy, and seal tightly.

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. Clove + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together7,874 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Allspice + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,331 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  3. Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,686 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Ginger + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Ginger + allspicetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together2,620 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

What each ingredient does

Beef suet
Adds richness and fat that keeps the filling moist and tender.
Moist sugar
Adds sweetness and moisture while helping preserve the mixture.
Brandy
Acts as a preservative and adds aroma to the mincemeat.
Apples
Provide moisture and tartness that balance the sweetness of the fruit and sugar.
Valentia raisins
Add concentrated sweetness and chewy body to the filling.
Currants
Add concentrated sweetness and chewy body to the filling.

The step that matters

Press into jars and seal tightly. Air exposure lets mould and spoilage organisms grow. Pressing out air pockets and covering the surface with brandy-soaked paper, then sealing, helps keep the mincemeat preserved during storage.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, sugar, ginger, clove, allspice, nutmeg, brandy):

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

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, sugar, ginger, clove, allspice, nutmeg, brandy. 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 mincemeat recipes

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