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Mince-meat

A preserved beef mixture with suet, dried fruit, spices, and molasses, stored in jars.

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

Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Mince-meat

Ingredients

Directions

Cook the beef

  1. Boil the beef in enough water to cover it, skimming off the scum as it rises.

  2. Add hot water as needed until the beef is tender.

  3. Remove the lid and add salt.

  4. Boil until almost dry, turning the meat occasionally.

  5. Let it cool overnight.

  6. Pick out bones, gristle, and stringy bits, then chop the meat very fine.

  7. Mince the beef suet at the same time.

Mix the filling

  1. In a large pan, combine the chopped meat, suet, raisins, currants, citron, and apples.

  2. Add cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmegs, lemon juice and rind, salt, pepper, and sugar.

  3. In a porcelain kettle, combine boiled cider (or juice), molasses, and butter.

  4. Bring the mixture to a boil.

  5. Pour the boiling mixture over the ingredients in the pan.

  6. Mix thoroughly.

Pack and store

  1. Pack the mixture into jars.

  2. Pour molasses over the top to a thickness of 1/8 inch.

  3. Cover tightly.

  4. Store in a cool place; it will keep for two months.

Bake

  1. For baking, take some out of the jar.

  2. Add hot water if not moist enough.

  3. Strew whole raisins over each pie.

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. Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together11,917 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Cinnamon + clovetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together14,189 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

  3. Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together8,686 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Cinnamon + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,380 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  5. Clove + gingertop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together6,038 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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 of the filling, tender after long simmering and reduction.
Beef suet
Adds richness and a moist, fatty texture that carries the spices.
Raisins
Add sweetness and chewy moisture throughout the filling.
Apples
Contribute tartness and moisture that balance the sugar and molasses.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and helps preserve the mixture.
Molasses
Adds dark sweetness, depth, and moisture to the filling.

The step that matters

Boil the beef until almost dry. Cooking the meat until nearly all liquid evaporates concentrates its flavour and firms its texture, so the filling does not turn wet or spoil in storage.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, raisin, apple, cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg):

  1. Figfits better
  2. Orangefits better
  3. Quincefits better
  4. Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, raisin, apple, cinnamon, clove, ginger, 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.

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