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Mince Pies

A savory and sweet mixture of boiled beef, apples, suet, dried fruit, spices, and wine, cooled and stored.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 19 ingredients
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Mince Pies

Why it works: Apple and cider are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,238 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓

Mince Pies

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the beef

  1. Cook 4 pounds of lean beef in enough water to cover it, skimming off the scum as it boils.

  2. Add hot water as needed until the beef is tender, then season with salt and pepper.

  3. Boil until the liquid reduces and the beef begins to fry in its own juices, then set aside to cool.

  4. The next day, remove bones and gristle from the beef before chopping.

Mix and age

  1. In a large bowl, mix the chopped beef with apples, suet, raisins, currants, citron, brown sugar, molasses, sweet cider, boiled cider, salt, pepper, mace, allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.

  2. Warm the mixture on the stove until heated through, then remove from heat.

  3. Once nearly cool, stir in the brandy and Madeira wine.

  4. Transfer to a crock, cover tightly, and store in a cold place.

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. Apple + cidertop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,238 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  2. Beef + peppertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together18,971 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).

  3. Currant + cidertop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together500 recipes

    Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, pear).

  4. Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,180 recipes

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

  5. Sugar + molassestop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together9,225 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Lean beef
Provides the main bulk and meaty body of the filling.
Apples
Add moisture, tartness and body to the filling.
Suet
Adds richness and fat that gives the filling a moist, mellow texture.
Raisins
Add concentrated sweetness and chewy texture.
Brown sugar
Adds sweetness and depth of flavour to the filling.
Molasses
Adds dark colour, sweetness and a robust, rich flavour.

The step that matters

Stirring in the brandy and Madeira once nearly cool. Alcohol added to a very hot mixture evaporates much of its aroma, so waiting until the filling is nearly cool keeps the spirits' flavour in the finished mince.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, apple, raisin, sugar, molasses, cider, pepper):

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

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, apple, raisin, sugar, molasses, cider, pepper. 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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