Christmas Mincemeat

Today I made Christmas Mincemeat

A Christmas favourite among my family has to be the ever festive Mince Pies and Apple and Mincemeat Crumble, well anything with the Christmas classic that is Mincemeat. Historically, Mincemeat always contained meat, then it branched into a meat and fruit combination but over the years it has developed itself into a purely sweet dish. To this day many modern recipes still contain beef suet. Although there are many boxed versions of store bough Mince Pies, nothing really beats a home-made Mince Pie. I have a number of different recipes in which I use Mincemeat, so I like to make it in bulk, jar it and store it to use over the Christmas period.

A clean sterilised jar is essential to the success and longevity of your Mincemeat. It is important to sterilise any jars used for preserves to remove any bacteria, yeasts or fungi to protect the food you put into the jar. To sterilise your jars heat the oven 130°C. Place the jars into the oven making sure they're not touching for a minimum of 20 minutes. Using thick oven gloves, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly. Do not add cold food to hot jars or hot food to cold jars as this will cause the jars to shatter. This method will kill all bacteria and can be used for all preserves and once the mincemeat is in the jars it can last for up to six months. 

Ingredients: 

500g Sultanas

500g Currants

500g Raisins

250g Mixed Peal

100g Glacé Cherries

200g Granulated Sugar

80g Desiccated Coconut

60g Chopped Walnuts 

1 Lemon

1 Orange

1 Lime

4 Tablespoons Honey

2 Teaspoon Cinnamon

2 Teaspoon Nutmeg 

2 Teaspoon Mixed Spice

Instructions:

1. To Sterilise Jars -  Preheat oven to 130°C. Place Jars into oven for 20 minutes to ensure all bacteria is killed.

2. Place Raisins, Sultanas and Currants into a large mixing bowl and mix. Add in the Mixed Peal and mix. Roughly chop the Glacé Cherries and add into the mixture. 

3. Zest and  juice the Lemon, Lime and Orange. When zesting the citrus fruit ensure to stop when you reach the white pith as this layer is very bitter.

4. Add the zest of the fruit to the mixture and mix well. The zest adds a great freshness and zing to the mixture.

5. Add in the mixture of the Lemon, Orange and Lime juice to the bowl and mix thoroughly. The juice adds a great acidity which cuts through the sweetness. The juice is also absorbed by the dried fruit making them plump and packs a punch of flavour.

6. Add in the Granulated Sugar and stir through. The sugar will coat all the mixture and mix with the Fruit juice to form the "Sauce" of the Mincemeat.

7. Add in the spices and mix through. This is when the Mincemeat starts to smell like Christmas. If I could bottle that scent and carry it around with me for the month of December I would. 

8. Finally, add in the desiccated Coconut and chopped Walnuts. Although not typical Mincemeat ingredients they add great texture to the mixture along with another contrasting colour. 

9. Fill your jars right up to the top, pushing down slightly to ensure the mixture is packed. Place a small circle of parchment paper on top of the mixture within the jar and place the lid on the jars. The flavours will develop over the next two weeks and will keep for up to six months.

"All I want for Christmas is my two Mincemeat"