Homemade (Vegetarian) Mincemeat - it's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas!!!

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Someone else can make the mince pies !!!

Now is the time to make mincemeat so that it has time to mature before you make the mince pies. This is in the oven as I type and the house smells divine!

First published in 2010 - the snow has long since melted!

For me, the Christmas season starts as soon as the fruity, spicy, alcoholic aromas of mincemeat rise from the oven. Best of all, it is astonishingly simple to put together and the long slow cooking transforms these simple ingredients into something magical. If kept sealed, my Apple and Cranberry Mincemeat will keep for up to a year* in a cool dry place – assuming that for some strange reason you don’t scoff the lot over Christmas.

*I once found a jar of mincemeat that had moved house twice with us and was still perfectly good after three years… Darina Allen, Ballymaloe's famous stirrer-of-mould-back-into-the-jam, would approve. As she says "Trust your senses. Look at food. Smell it. Taste it - if in doubt, just have a small taste." 

Obviously, common sense must prevail.

Simple ingredients...  

A word of warning: if you make this mincemeat, you will be called upon to perform your magic every year henceforth.

For approximately 4 magical jars (1.5kg in total) you will need
... to pre-heat the oven to 100°C 

200g apple, grated
200g raisins

200g sultanas

200g currants

100g dried cranberries

200g dark brown sugar

100g mixed peel

50g walnuts, finely chopped

50g whole almonds, finely chopped

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

a tiny pinch of ground cloves – about one-sixteenth of a teaspoon

125g butter, cut into cubes

grated peel and juice of 1 large orange

grated peel and juice of 1 lemon

6 tablespoons Apple Schnapps (or Brandy, or Whiskey for a more traditional flavour)

You’ll need also an additional 2 tablespoons of whatever alcohol you choose, to stir in at the end.



... magical food (that looks much prettier in jars) and tastes incredible in a pastry case 



Mix all the ingredients together in a large oven proof dish with a lid. Cover and place in the preheated oven and cook gently for 3 hours, stirring every half hour or so.

When the cooking time has elapsed, remove from the oven and allow to cool, stirring briefly every half hour until cold so that the butter remains evenly distributed.

Finally, stir a further 2 tablespoons of Apple Schnapps (or Brandy, or Whiskey) into the cold mixture before sealing in clean, dry jars. That’s it, job done. Someone else can make the mince pies!

UPDATE - The wonderful Angie Schnieder of Angie's Recipes adapted this for her slow cooker "Just made this using my slow cooker (4 hrs on low)...and it was sensational!" Angie made a few other changes, swapping out ingredients her husband doesn't like for others that he does. Make your own customisations - it's what cooking is all about!



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