Mincemeat Tart Recipe | Hallmark Ideas & Inspiration (2024)

FAQs

What can I add to store bought mincemeat? ›

Vine fruits and apple provide much of the body. Candied fruit is important too—usually lemon and orange peel, but sometimes cherries. Ginger and prunes are welcome additions, too. The essential trinity of spices is cinnamon, clove and nutmeg, but the ingredient list may just say "spices," which isn't very helpful.

A mince pie (also mincemeat pie in North America, and fruit mince pie in Australia and New Zealand) is a sweet pie of English origin filled with mincemeat, being a mixture of fruit, spices and suet. The pies are traditionally served during the Christmas season in much of the English-speaking world.

Hot, cold or slightly warmed. Top off or top on. Custard, cream, clotted cream, ice cream, brandy cream, brandy butter or, dare we say it, hard, crumbly cheese… The ways to serve a mince pie are practically endless.

To spread the joy, it was tradition in England that each member of the family gave the mixture a stir, while making a wish. And if you wanted to be ensure good health and happiness in the upcoming year, you should eat one mince pie every day for the Twelve Days of Christmas, from Christmas Eve until the 5th of January.

For every two cups of "store-bought" mincemeat, as my mom calls it, add the following: 1/2 c. shredded, peeled apple; 1 tsp. or more mixed spices (especially cinnamon, nutmeg and coriander); 2 tbsp. each diced citron, diced candied orange peel and diced candied lemon peel (or you can cheat and use 6 tbsp.

To pimp shop-bought mincemeat, simply stir in brandy and some chopped cherries.

By the 18th century it was more likely to be tongue or even tripe, and in the 19th century it was minced beef. It was not until the late Victorian period and early 20th Century that mince pies dropped the meat and had all fruit fillings (albeit with suet). Even today there are traditions associated with mince pies.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, mincemeat pie went beyond just a holiday treat and also offered significant symbolism. Around Christmas, it was popular to bake an elaborate pie that had dough resembling baby Jesus and included spices and sweetmeats as representatives of the gifts from the visiting Magi.

Mincemeat is a combination of chopped dried fruits, spices, sugar, nuts, distilled spirits, a fat of some type and sometimes meat. The name is a carryover from 15th century England when mincemeat did indeed have meat in the mix; in fact, the whole point of mincemeat was to preserve meat with sugar and alcohol.

Going on to how one should formally eat a mince pie, she explains: 'One would pick up the mince pie with a thumb and first finger, and lift [it] away from the plate. 'The mince pie is crumbly, so make sure anything that falls from the mince pie falls onto your plate.

Should mince pies be eaten hot or cold? ›

And never serve a cold pie. 'Ideally, mince pies for a drinks party will be served gently warmed, but if eating at home you could serve them much warmer with gently melting ice cream, rum or brandy butter. Here, a fork and spoon will be needed to avoid those mucky fingers.

Mince pies are best served warm but not hot, dusted with icing sugar and with a dollop of cream, homemade brandy butter, or a drizzle of custard on the side. So, what do drink with it? Sherry is the traditional tipple-of-choice for mince pie lovers in Britain.

It has been claimed that eating the snack is illegal in England if done so on Christmas Day. The tradition comes from the time of Oliver Cromwell in the 1650s, when mince pies were banned at Christmas, along with other tasty treats. Cromwell wanted to tackle gluttony in England.

Mince pies = eyes

This is a term used widely in London even to this day, usually to describe a girl's features. Her eyes would be described as Minces, an even more slang term from the original mince pies.

Start by tasting it, then add extra flavours that suit: nearly always add a little freshly grated lemon or orange zest, extra spice, extra brandy or rum and some cherries or nuts.

Ingredients: Water, Corn Syrup, Raisins, Dried Apples, Molasses, Corn Starch Modified, Distilled Vinegar, Dried Orange And Lemon Peel, Salt, Spices, Beef, Fruit Pectin, Natural Flavor.

Hello, Homemade mincemeat is dryer. It will be fine. If you particularly want a wetter mincemeat, you can add a splash of orange juice or alcohol when you come to use it.

Egg: A lot of meatball recipes add egg to the mince mixture because it helps to bind the balls together. Breadcrumbs: Breadcrumbs also help to bind your meatballs. If the mince mixture is quite wet, breadcrumbs will help soak up excess moisture so that the balls don't fall apart.