Name: Ideal Mince Meat
Ingredients: 3 lbs lean beef, cooked and ground fine; 1 lb suet, uncooked and ground; 1 lb seeded raisins; 1 lb thoroughly washed currants; ½ lb citron, ground very fine; 12 medium sized apples, peeled and chopped; 1 lb cooked apricots, chopped; 1 cup candied lemon peel, ground fine; ¼ cup candied orange peel, ground fine; 2 cups rich preserves of any variety; 1 cup dark molasses; 3 cups brown sugar; 5 cups white sugar; 3 cups strong vinegar; 3 cups cider; 4 teaspoons nutmeg; 2 teaspoons cloves; 5 teaspoons cinnamon; 2 teaspoons ginger; 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt (formerly 'bay salt')

Why it works: Lemon and orange match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,634 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓

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.

Lemon + orangetop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together10,634 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Apple + apricottop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together777 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-undecalactone (peach, sweet).
Apricot + orangetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together703 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Apple + orangetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,230 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Raisin + curranttop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together6,180 recipes

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

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

What each ingredient does

Lean beef: Provides the meaty bulk and body that the filling is built on.
Suet: Adds richness and a silky, moist texture to the filling.
Apples: Contribute moisture, tartness and body to the filling.
Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and a deep, molasses-like flavour.
White sugar: Adds sweetness and helps preserve the mixture.
Vinegar: Adds acidity that brightens the flavour and helps preserve the mixture.

Swap the currant

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beef, raisin, apple, apricot, lemon, orange, molasses):

Figfits better
Peachfits better
Pearfits better
Currantthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beef, raisin, apple, apricot, lemon, orange, molasses. 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.