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.
Roll out the pastry thinly.
Fill and shape
Use a generous amount of mincemeat, about 2 teaspoons for small pies.
Moisten the edges of the pastry.
Crimp the edges or leave them plain.
Make a small hole in the top of each pie.
Bake
Brush the tops with egg white and dust with icing sugar before baking.
Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) for 20 to 30 minutes.
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
- Mincemeat
- Provides the sweet, spiced filling that gives each pie its flavour.
- Pastry
- Forms the buttery shell that holds the filling and browns in the oven.
- Egg white
- Brushed on top to help the pastry brown and give a glossy finish.
- Icing sugar
- Dusted over the tops to add sweetness and a delicate finish.
The step that matters
Moisten the edges of the pastry. Wet edges help the lid and base seal together so filling does not leak out during baking. A tight seal keeps the mincemeat inside the pastry as it heats and expands.
“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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