Traditional Mincemeat

Mince pie season is well and truly upon us, so I decided to revive what I suspect is now a dying art and make some mincemeat of my own to fill them. Mincemeat is another one of those products that may be found in any shop nowadays at a reasonable price. The quality is usually very good too, which you might think hardly makes it worth the bother of making it at home, but there’s a great sense of satisfaction to be had from doing so!

This recipe made 7 x 12oz jars of mincemeat.

Ingredients:

You will need 1kg of dried fruit. The choice is up to you, but the following mixture is what I used:

300g of luxury mixed dried fruit

200g of sultanas

200g of currants

100g of raisins

200g of mixed peel

You will also need:

200g of shredded suet (preferably beef, but vegetable if you prefer)

300g of soft brown sugar

50g of blanched almonds, finely chopped (optional)

2 large or 3 medium cooking apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped

the zest and juice of 1 orange

the zest and juice of 1 lemon

½ a jar of orange marmalade

½ of a whole nutmeg, grated

4 teaspoons of mixed spice

100mls of brandy (or whisky)

Method:

The method for making the mincemeat couldn’t be simpler:

• place all the ingredients into a large saucepan

• gently heat the ingredients, stirring almost constantly, until the sugar has dissolved and the suet has melted. This should take about 10 – 15 minutes of gentle heat
• remove the pan from the heat, cover the pan with a clean tea towel, and leave the mixture until it is completely cold, overnight if necessary.
• prepare some jam jars and lids – give them a good wash out with hot water and sterilise the glass jars, either in a hot oven for 5 minutes or in the microwave for 2 minutes
• when the fruity mixture is completely cold, pack the mincemeat into the prepared jars

The finished mincemeat needs a couple of weeks to mature before you use it, just to let the flavours develop properly, then you can wow your friends and family with your home baking!