My homemade mincemeat is a lower in sugar take on classic British mincemeat for mince pies, sparing none of the taste.
Homemade Mincemeat
There are no mince pies in America. I repeat there are no mince pies in America.
This shouldn’t bother me, because luckily I know how to make my own mince pies. Well, I know how to make my own pastry and fill it up with the finest mincemeat I can get my hands on. Not a problem in London, but with mince pies and also mincemeat being a very British affair, here in the USA jars of imported mincemeat seem to retail at $17.00! Yesterday I took action against this tragedy and made up my very own batch of mincemeat for pies I will be making later this week.
I can’t wait to introduce this delicious British institution to the Americans – especially as I’ve had to explain to my American pals many times that there is in actual fact no mince in mince meat. Though traditionally there was, and that’s how these cute little pies got their name. I’m not sure I would quite fancy the old fashioned version, though. Anyone ever tried one?
There are many variations for mincemeat recipes, no doubt handed down through families, friends, cookbooks and more recently the internet. Most have more added sugar than I’d like. I’ve just added 50g sugar to my recipe which is way less than you would usually find. I’m certain I couldn’t taste the difference. I also didn’t want to add any candied peel, and instead threw in an interesting mixed dried fruit mix. Do feel free to mix up your dried fruits – as long as you keep the weight / volume as below and pick a range of colours your mincemeat will be beautifully jewelled for Christmas. I also decided to go for butter instead of the traditional suet. Not because I think there is anything wrong with well sourced suet, just that it’s harder to come by in these ‘ere parts.
Mincemeat Ingredients
The cooking methods also alter between recipes, some chefs favouring a long simmer, some no heating at all. For my basic method & what to include I consulted the legendary Mary Berry and also Joy of Baking and went somewhere in-between for my healthier take on the traditional classic.
- 1 large apple, such as Braeburn, Gala etc peeled and grated
- ½ cup raisins / 75g
- ½ cup golden sultanas / 75g
- ½ cup currants / 75g
- ½ cup dried cranberries / 65g
- ½ cup mixed dried fruit: apple, peach, sultana, apricots (NB not traditional) / 60g
- Zest and juice of an orange
- ⅓ cup sugar / 50g
- 4 Tablespoons organic butter, cubed
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 Tablespoon brandy (optional)
- Add all of the ingredients above (other than the brandy) into a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir
- When the butter is fully melted, turn the heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring often.
- Take the saucepan off the heat and stir through a Tablespoon of brandy, and decant into sterilized glass jars.
- Leave to cool with the lid slightly ajar, then secure tightly and store until you're ready to use.
I saw the ingredients for this on instagram and got very exciting. I am baffled, though – how can there be no mince pies in America? What is Christmas without a mince pie? That said – homemade mincemeat is alway better than shop bought so probably for the best… Can’t wait to try this recipe – you’ve managed to keep the sugar right down.
I know. Mince pies are the essence of Christmas – right? It always baffles me that sugar tends to be one of the first ingredients on a mince meat jar – hello – duh? Should it be dried fruit? So glad to hear your’e excited. Look forward to hear how you get along!!
Well done on making your own mincemeat – I bought what I thought was a pretty reputable brand (made the cake this year, no time for making mincemeat!) and was so shocked by its sugary gloopiness I mixed it with loads of fresh apple, dried apricots, sultanas, orange zest etc. Its fine now but that will teach me not to buy it again. You won’t have such a problem!!
Ha ha, thanks Anna. Great idea to pad out a shop bought version with loads of extra goodness instead! Hope you enjoy your pies!
I am just making this and it smells amazing! I can’t wait to eat it! Not that it will last long but how long do you think it would keep for???
Wow! Early for Christmas! I’m looking forward to making mine soon too! The only thing that would spoil is the butter, so it depends on how you keep it. Shop bought mincemeat with lard lasts years in sealed jars. If kept in airtight jar in fridge I would say a month. But really I ate mine within a week last year so can’t say for sure. Good luck!
I bought a jar of organic mince pie filling (in the UK) with no added sugar and no suet. It uses molasses (which is part of the sugar cane isn’t it!) and Apple juice concentrate as well as sunflower oil. It’s delicious! I made my own as per Delia but used coconut sugar instead of regular sugar and vegetable suet instead of beef suet. No-one noticed the difference!
I think I’ve tried that one before – Meridien. Its good for a shop bought one – but nothing is as good as home made. Great to know you fooled everyone with your healthier version! Happy Christmas!
This sounds fantastic! Do you know if you could use coconut oil instead of butter?
I havent tried it so cant say for aure but imagine it would do a good job. They have different properties so arent interchangeable always (fat content and taste) but mincemeat isnt so scientific as the pastry itself so worth a try. Use less to start with!
Great thanks! I’m making mince muffins and the jars are just way too sweet!
Enjoy!
Ha! There are SO mince pies is America, but admittedly good ones are very scarce. I have had the old style of mince with meat in it, and prefer it for a main dish pie, rather than dessert. I love your take on the ingredients, as most recipes and all canned varieties are disgusting. Happy Turkey Day!
Well I couldn’t find any in Berkeley, Oakland or San Francisco – not even in the UK section of the infamous Berkeley Bowl (just Cadbury’s chocolate and other horrors), so I’m glad I was able to introduce this to the Americans I lived with. Have a wonderful turkey day, maybe one day I will try the full meat version!
Hi Ceri, your site is great, and I think you will like mine too. I show how to be fully grain free, low carb, bean free etc, and my mince pies DO contain meat. As the name implies, mince meat used to be made of minced meat, dried fruit and spices, and that’s what mine contains. Here is the recipe for your delectation: https://rosemarycottageclinic.wordpress.com/2015/12/22/real-mince-meat-pies/. Please leave a comment for me too! Thanks.
Mincemeat is very easy to find on the east coast. Best brand is Crosse and Blackwell with brand because it’s lower in sugar. .
Sorry about the typo- I’m multitasking while reading recipes.
I forgot to write that I add a chopped a peeled Granny Smith apple and 1/4 cup of fresh orange rind to the jar and reheat it until blended. Mincemeat pies were a must at our family holiday meals.
Hi,
Thank you for your mincemeat recipe. My daughter is a coeliac, but actually doesn’t like mince pies, so she eats apple pies instead but buying gluten free pastry is SO expensive. Would it be at all possible for you to email me your pastry recipe please? Also what sort of pastry is it – puff or shortcrust?
I look forward to making my own mincemeat again next year (for my son and me)- this year it was a bit bland as we just used traditional mixed fruit with grated apple on top (no sugar at all).
No problem Gwynneth, thanks for choosing it to cook. The pastry recipe is actually on the post following this one, its a shortcrust grain free one, and there are also a couple of other pastries on the site.
https://naturalkitchenadventures.com/recipe/paleo-mince-pies/
https://naturalkitchenadventures.com/recipe/gluten-free-mince-pies/
https://naturalkitchenadventures.com/recipe/grain-free-apple-pie/
Happy cooking!