Mince-meat

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. Currant + brandytop 7% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together3,057 recipes

   Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

2. Brandy + winetop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together2,427 recipes

   Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).

3. Apple + winetop 10% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together1,207 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine (green bell pepper, earthy).

4. Apple + brandytop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together1,291 recipes

   Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

5. Apple + curranttop 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

Provides the meaty body and savoury richness that the mincemeat is named for.

Apples

Add moisture and tartness that balance the sweetness of the sugar and dried fruit.

Suet

Adds fat that gives the mixture a rich, moist texture.

Sugar

Sweetens the mixture and helps preserve it.

Currants

Contribute chewy sweetness and body to the filling.

Brandy and wine

Add liquid and alcohol that deepen the flavour and help preserve the mixture.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, apple, sugar, currant, brandy, wine):

1. Plumfits better
2. Figfits better
3. Grapefits better
4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, apple, sugar, currant, brandy, wine. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.