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Christmas Main Page
Mince Pies have become a firm
tradition at Christmas for many of us, and with vegetarian
varieties of mincemeat now available, they can be enjoyed by
everyone, as can the numerous other recipes using this old
ingredient.
Traditionally
mince pies contained meat. In the 11th Century,
Crusaders returning from the Holy Land brought
with them various spices including cinnamon,
cloves and nutmeg. These were added to minced
meat and other ingredients to symbolise the
three gifts given to Jesus by the three kings
(the magi). To further celebrate the birth of
Christ, the pies were originally made in large
oblong shapes which represented his cradle.
Over the years, the pies grew smaller, the shape
of the pie was gradually changed from oblong to
round possibly to disguise their significance
due to the edicts of Oliver Cromwell (Lord
Protector of England from 1649 until 1658).
Being a puritan, he disapproved of the Christmas
celebrations of the time seeing them as a pagan
holiday which encouraged drunkenness and
gluttony. He actually banned Christmas
celebrations and the cooking of Christmas foods
including mince pies. Thankfully for us, King
Charles II restored Christmas celebrations to
their former glory when he ascended the throne
in 1660.
Over the years the meat content became smaller
and smaller until the pies were eventually made
with a filling of dried fruit, nuts, spices and
suet.
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Suet is the dense fat which surrounds beef kidneys.
Unprocessed suet is now difficult to obtain, as many butchers no longer get
the kidneys in tact but shredded suet is easily purchased in packets and this is the type of suet most
recipes call for. It's now even possible to purchase vegetarian suet. Suet is a traditional
ingredient used for both sweet and savoury steamed puddings and is used in the making of
mincemeat. It is also sometimes used to feed birds!
You can read more about suet and its properties and uses
here.
Mincemeat recipes & recipes using
mincemeat
Below are some
traditional and alternative ideas for making and using
mincemeat.
Christmas Mince
Pies
This is a recipe for basic mince pies but you
can make them even more festive by cutting the
top pastry crusts into shapes such as Christmas
trees, reindeers and snowmen. Don�t worry about
the filling drying out�.it won�t.
Filo Mincemeat Parcels
If you�re fed up with the usual shortcrust
pastry used for mince pies, use this recipe
instead. Very chic and especially nice for
parties. Make them even more �adult� by
sprinkling a few drops of Brandy or other
alcohol before you seal them up.
Vegan Mincemeat
Muffins
These are equally as
good using ordinary mincemeat for a
non-vegan/vegetarian version
Apple and Mincemeat Tart
Don�t like Christmas Pudding? Well this is an
equally festive substitute. It�s also a lot
lighter on the stomach providing you stick to
one portion !
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