Why it works: Lemon and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,227 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Mince Pies Royal.
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the filling
In a bowl, combine the mincemeat, sugar, lemon rind, lemon juice, clarified butter, and egg yolks. Mix well.
Fill patty pans lined with pastry about three-quarters full with the mixture.
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven until just set.
Ice and finish
Beat the egg whites until stiff, then quickly mix in the powdered sugar.
Spread the icing thickly over the pies and return to the oven.
Bake slowly until the icing is a fine light brown.
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.
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Lemon + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Sugar + lemontop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Lemon + eggtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Sugar and lemon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mincemeat
- Provides the main fruity, spiced filling and sweetness for the pies.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the filling and help it set into a tender custard-like texture when baked.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks to form a light meringue-style icing that browns in the oven.
- Clarified butter
- Adds richness and fat for a tender texture in the filling.
- Powdered sugar
- Stabilizes the whipped egg whites and helps the icing brown to a fine light colour.
The step that matters
Bake slowly until the icing is a fine light brown. Meringue-style icing is sugar and egg white that can overbrown or weep quickly at high heat. A slow bake sets it through and browns it evenly without scorching the surface.
Flavor stand-ins for the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, butter, egg):
- Vanillabetter flavor fit
- Lemonthe original
- Raisinabout as good a flavor fit
- Figabout as good a flavor fit
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, butter, egg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
“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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