Why it works: Butter and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 118,967 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. 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
Roll out the paste to ½ inch thick on a floured surface.
Butter large patty pans and line them with the paste.
Fill and bake
Fill each with mincemeat and cover with rounds of paste.
Trim the edges, moisten, and press them together.
Bake in a brisk oven at 400°F (200°C) for 25-30 minutes.
Beat the egg white to stiff froth, brush over the pies, and sprinkle with sugar.
Return to the oven for 2-3 minutes to glaze.
Serve hot on a folded napkin or ornamental dish.
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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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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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
- Paste
- Forms the crisp, flaky case and lid that hold the filling.
- Butter
- Greases the patty pans and adds richness to the pastry.
- Mincemeat
- Supplies the sweet, spiced filling that gives the pie its flavour.
- Egg white
- Glazes the pies, giving a glossy, lightly browned surface when baked.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and a crisp, sparkling finish on top of the glaze.
The step that matters
Sealing the lids. If the edges are not trimmed, moistened, and pressed firmly together, the lid can separate or the filling can leak during baking, leaving the pie dry and poorly sealed.
“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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