Here’s a recipe for old fashioned mincemeat (essential for your mince pies) which I discovered in my mother’s book. It includes carrots - a sign of the times perhaps - which do give it a certain sweetness but if you’re at all worried, fresh cranberries are a good alternative (if you can get them early enough).
Mincemeat is very easy to make (though I’m not sure my mother ever did!) and simply involves putting all the ingredients into a bowl to let it infuse for a couple of days. Then it goes into a low oven for a few hours, before allowing it to cool and adding the brandy. I’ve halved the recipe and adapted the spices slightly.
225g cooking apples - peeled, cored and grated
110g carrots - peeled and grated
225g sultanas
225g raisins
225g currants
225g soft brown sugar
225g shredded suet
110g candied peel
3 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
zest and juice of 1 orange
zest and juice of 1 lemon
4 tablespoons of brandy
Put all the ingredients, except for the brandy, into a large ceramic bowl, give it a good stir and cover with a clean tea towel.
Leave in a cool place for a couple of days, stirring occasionally.
When you're ready to cook it, preheat the oven to 120ºC, cover the bowl with tin foil and place in the oven for 4 hours.
... and enjoy the smell of Christmas in the kitchen!
When the time is up, remove the bowl from the oven and allow to cool completely. Give it a stir every now and then so the melted suet coats all the fruits and when completely cool, stir in the brandy. Pack it into your sterilised jars and label. This amount of mincemeat makes 4-5 jars which will keep for up to a year.
For information on how to sterilise the jars, read my post on 'all you need to know about making jam'.
If you don’t have the time to make your own mincemeat, a jar of store-bought mincemeat can be enhanced with the addition of grated apple, lemon and orange zest and, of course, brandy.
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