Name: Mincemeat
Ingredients: 1 pound unsalted ox-tongue, boiled and rind removed; 2 pounds fine stoned raisins; 2 pounds beef kidney suet; 2.5 pounds currants, cleaned and dried; 2 good apples, chopped; 2.5 pounds fine sugar; ½ to 1 pound candied peel, to taste; grated rind of 2 large lemons; 2 boiled lemons, chopped (without seeds); 2 small nutmegs; ½ ounce coarse sea salt; 1 large teaspoon pounded mace; more than 1 teaspoon ground ginger; ½ pint brandy; ½ pint good sherry or Madeira

Why it works: Nutmeg and mace are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,557 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓

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.

Nutmeg + macetop 4% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together6,557 recipes

Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together11,318 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together5,377 recipes

Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,180 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
Currant + appletop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together1,918 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).

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

What each ingredient does

Beef kidney suet: Adds fat that keeps the mincemeat moist and rich in texture.
Fine sugar: Provides sweetness and helps preserve the mixture.
Brandy: Adds alcohol that helps preserve the mincemeat and contributes aroma.
Raisins: Contribute natural sweetness and a chewy, moist texture.
Currants: Add concentrated fruit sweetness and chewy body.
Sherry or madeira: Adds wine flavour and aroma and further helps preserve the mixture.

Swap the mace

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (raisin, beef, currant, apple, sugar, lemon, nutmeg):

Cinnamonfits better
Allspicefits better
Clovefits better
Macethe original

Fit is the average pairing score against raisin, beef, currant, apple, sugar, lemon, 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.