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Dessert

Mincemeat

A preserved mixture of shredded ox‑tongue, dried fruits, spices, and spirits.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 15 ingredients
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Why it works: Nutmeg and mace are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,557 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

Mincemeat

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the meat and fruit

  1. Boil the ox‑tongue until tender, then shred it.

  2. Mince the raisins, suet, currants, apples, and candied peel separately.

Mix and pack

  1. Combine all minced ingredients in a large bowl.

  2. Add the grated lemon rind, chopped boiled lemons, nutmeg, salt, mace, and ginger.

  3. Pour in the brandy and sherry or Madeira, mixing well.

  4. Press the mixture into jars and cover tightly.

  5. Store for a few days before using; it will keep for many weeks.

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. Nutmeg + macetop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together6,557 recipes

    Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).

  2. Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,318 recipes

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

  3. Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,377 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).

  4. Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,180 recipes

    Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).

  5. Currant + appletop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together1,918 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).

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

What each ingredient does

Ox-tongue
Provides the meaty body and texture that gives the mincemeat its substance.
Beef kidney suet
Adds richness and moisture, carrying flavour through the mixture.
Raisins
Contribute sweetness and chewy body to the filling.
Currants
Add sweetness, moisture and a concentrated fruity flavour.
Fine sugar
Sweetens the mixture and helps preserve it.
Brandy
Adds aroma and helps preserve the mincemeat during storage.

The step that matters

Store for a few days before using. Resting lets the spirits, sugar and spices blend and mellow into the fruit and meat, so the flavour develops before the mincemeat is eaten.

Swap the mace

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

  1. Cinnamonfits better
  2. Allspicefits better
  3. Clovefits better
  4. Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, beef, currant, apple, sugar, lemon, nutmeg. 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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