Quote Originally Posted by Canuck of NI View Post
Eggnogg is being discussed on another thread and fruitcake came up on the suprisingly popular oatmeal thread; it must mean that Christmas is near! So now I'm wondering if there are any XMTS fans of one of the most traditional Christmas foods of all, mincemeat. I refer to fruitcake's fatty cousin, generally used as a filling in pies and tarts. Mincemeat was once so much a part of Christmas that the use of it in December was banned by the Puritans in the UK and the American colonies, but it was always a favorite in my house. My silver haired mother still makes it in almost the old fashioned way, starting out with ground beef but omitting the equal amount of beef suet in the old recipies, lots of sugar, dried fruit, and spices. One slice of a mince meat pie will set you up for a day of chopping firewood etc, which, tastiness aside, I'm sure is one reason why it was so popular- and it would have used up otherwise uneatable amounts of suet too. Anyone a fan?
It's a labour of love in our kitchen, though it is made at the same time as we put down the plum puds, in November. Jars of mince meat are all lined up in the pantry and ready for rolling out the pastry next week.