Why it works: Egg and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 21% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 122,807 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Mince Pies
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Make good puff-paste and roll it out to ¼ inch thick.
Line good-sized patty pans with the paste.
Fill and bake
Fill the pans with mincemeat and cover with more paste.
Trim the edges close to the tin and place the pies in a 400°F (200°C) oven.
Bake for 25 minutes or until golden.
Finish and serve
Brush the tops with beaten egg white and sprinkle with pounded sugar.
Return to the oven for 1-2 minutes to dry the egg.
Serve hot on a white doily.
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.
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Puff-paste
- Forms the flaky, layered pastry case and lid that hold the filling.
- Mincemeat
- Provides the sweet, spiced, moist filling of the pie.
- Egg white
- Brushed on top to help the pastry brown and give a glossy finish.
- Pounded sugar
- Sprinkled on top to add sweetness and a crisp, sugary finish.
The step that matters
Trimming and sealing the edges before baking. Trimming the paste close to the tin keeps the edges neat and sealed, so filling does not leak and the pastry bakes evenly.
“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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