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Preserve

Mince Meat

A preserved meat mixture of beef, suet, raisins, currants, spices, apples, and sweeteners, packed in jars.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 18 ingredients
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Why it works: Cinnamon and clove match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 14,189 recipes. Both carry ethyl cinnamate, which smells sweet, balsamic. The science ↓

Mince Meat

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Cook the meat until tender, salting it when almost done.

  2. Chop the apples, suet, and raisins.

  3. Pack the mixture into jars, cover tightly, and store in a cool 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.

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

    Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).

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

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

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

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  4. Raisin + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,390 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

  5. Apple + cinnamontop 4% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,598 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

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

What each ingredient does

Meat
Provides savory body and a firm, chewy texture once cooked and mixed.
Beef suet
Adds fat that keeps the mince moist and gives it a rich mouthfeel.
Raisins
Contribute concentrated sweetness and a soft, chewy texture.
Cooking apples
Add moisture and tartness that balance the sweetness of the dish.
Molasses
Adds deep sweetness, dark color, and a robust flavor.

The step that matters

Packing and storing the mince. Mincemeat holds meat, fat and moisture, so it can spoil. Packing it into jars and sealing them tightly, then keeping them cool, slows spoilage. Sugar and spices help but do not replace cold, airtight storage.

Swap the currant

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

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

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

More mince meat recipes

Pie Filling 11Pie 10with Apples 9Preserved 8Apple 7Mock 7 See all 183 →

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