Why it works: Meat and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 34% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,866 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Mince Pies
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Take half a dozen tin pans of any size you prefer.
Fill each pan with Mince Meat.
Cover with Puff Paste, rolling it to a thickness of ¼ inch.
Trim the edges with a knife and make a small opening at the top with a fork.
Bake and serve
Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown.
Serve hot, removing the tin pans before serving.
Optionally, sprinkle a little sifted loaf sugar on top before serving.
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.
-
Meat + sugartop 34% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together2,866 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mince meat
- Forms the sweet, moist, spiced filling that fills each pie.
- Puff paste
- Forms the flaky, layered crust that bakes golden and encloses the filling.
The step that matters
Cover with Puff Paste and vent the top. The paste should be rolled to an even thickness so it bakes evenly, and the small opening lets steam escape so the filling does not force the crust apart.
“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 mince pies recipes
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.