Why it works: Sugar and egg 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 good oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Prepare the mincemeat and pastry as needed.
Roll out the pastry thinly and cut into circles.
Fill and shape
Place a generous amount of mincemeat (about 2 teaspoons) in the center of each circle.
Fold the pastry over and crimp the edges to seal.
Make a small hole in the top of each pie.
Glaze and bake
Brush with egg white and dust with icing sugar if desired.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) until golden.
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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Sugar + eggtop 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
- Pastry
- Forms the sealed shell that holds the filling and bakes crisp and golden.
- Mincemeat
- Provides the sweet, spiced, fruity filling that fills each pie.
- Egg white
- Brushed on top to help the surface brown and turn glossy.
The step that matters
Crimp the edges to seal. If the pastry edges are not sealed tightly, the filling can leak and burn during baking, and the pie may open at the seam.
“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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