Why it works: Butter and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 98,233 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Mince Pies.
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a fierce oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Grease tin pattypans with butter and line them with the puff paste.
Fill and cover
Fill the lined pattypans with mincemeat.
Moisten the edges of the pastry covers and place them on top, sealing carefully.
Trim off any excess paste and make a small hole in the center of each pie.
Brush the tops with cold water and sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
Bake
Bake for 30 minutes, covering with paper if they brown too quickly.
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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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 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
- Fine puff paste
- Forms the flaky, crisp case and lid that hold the filling.
- Mincemeat
- Provides the sweet, spiced fruit filling that fills each pie.
- Butter
- Greases the pattypans so the pastry releases cleanly after baking.
- Powdered sugar
- Adds sweetness and a light dusting on the finished tops.
The step that matters
Covering the tops as they bake. Pastry browns quickly at high oven heat because sugars caramelize and proteins brown. Covering with paper slows colour change so the pastry can finish cooking through without burning.
“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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