Name: Mincemeat
Ingredients: brandy; rum; whipped cream; nutmeg (optional); cinnamon (optional)

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 ↓

Mincemeat

Ingredients

Directions

Cool the mincemeat and partially freeze it.
Add the brandy, rum, and whipped cream; mix well.
Freeze for a little longer.
Serve in small china sorbet cups.
Grate nutmeg or cinnamon over the top if desired.

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.

Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,917 recipes

Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
Brandy + rumtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,058 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Rum + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together508 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Rum + nutmegtop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together646 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
Cream + nutmegtop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,920 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).