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Dessert

Mock Mince Pie

A sweet pie made with molasses, raisins, and spices, baked in a double crust.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 10 ingredients
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Mock Mince Pie

Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Mock Mince Pie

Ingredients

Directions

Make the filling

  1. Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

  2. Heat the mixture on the stove, stirring often until thoroughly heated.

Assemble and bake

  1. Pour the filling into a pie crust and cover with a second crust.

  2. Bake until the crust is golden brown.

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.

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.

  1. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,686 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,390 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

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

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

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

What each ingredient does

Molasses
Adds dark color, moisture and a deep, sweet flavor to the filling.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps keep the filling moist and rich.
Bread crumbs
Soak up liquid and give the filling body and a mincemeat-like texture.
Raisins
Add chewy texture and concentrated sweetness to the filling.
Vinegar
Adds acidity that brightens the sweetness of the molasses and sugar.

The step that matters

Heating the filling thoroughly. The filling is heated on the stove until it is evenly hot throughout, which helps the flavors blend and ensures the filling is fully heated before it goes into the crust. Stirring often prevents the sugary molasses mixture from scorching on the bottom of the pan.

Swap the raisin

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (molasses, vinegar, sugar, bread, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg):

  1. Figfits about as well
  2. Raisinthe original
  3. Vanillafits about as well
  4. Applefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against molasses, vinegar, sugar, bread, clove, cinnamon, 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.

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