MINCEMEAT

One of the holiday traditions I like at Christmas time is mincemeat.   I know a number of wonderful bakers who make all kinds of tarts, fruitcakes and squares at Christmas.  There will be raisin tarts; butter tarts; cherry tarts; squares with chocolates, nuts, cherries, coconut or dates; and fudge.  What catches my attention is mincemeat.  I really like mincemeat and will choose that over most other Christmas sweets.  I am not a big fan of store bought mincemeat as once you eat homemade mincemeat you can't go back.  Last Christmas I tasted a wonderful mincemeat pie made by a cousin of a good friend of mine.   I had to ask for the recipe.  It doesn't contain any suet and is just dried fruit; sugar; syrup; apples; orange, lemon and apple juices and spices.   I liked that this recipe doesn't contain any suet as it will be lower in fat and calories.  The recipe should be made in mid November so that it can cure over the 6 weeks before Christmas.  The following recipe can be halved if you want a smaller amount.  I made this recipe this afternoon and it is quick to make.  The longest step was peeling, coring and chopping the apples.

MINCEMEAT

INGREDIENTS

3 lbs raisins

1 lb currants

1 lb mixed peel

6 to 8 apples, peeled, cored and chopped

Juice of 2 lemons

Juice of 3 oranges

½ cup golden syrup

2 cups brown sugar

1 litre carton of apple juice

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp mace

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp allspice

1 tsp cinnamon

½ tsp cloves

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, mix everything together except the apple juice.   Divide the mixture between two large ice cream pails.   Add ½ the carton of apple juice to each pail.  The apple juice should just come about up to the top of the mixture.   Place lids on the pails.  Leave on the counter for a few days to allow the mixture to start to ferment.  After a few days, put the pails in the fridge until Christmas.  What is not used at Christmas time can be frozen. 

You can cut this recipe in half which will make about 2 to 3 pies (not deep dish pies).  When making a pie, add about 4 dollops of butter on top of the unbaked piecrust before placing the mincemeat in the pie shell.  This mincemeat recipe should be made in mid November.