Perfect Mince Pies | Fruit Recipes | Jamie Oliver Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What is the filling in mince pies made of? ›

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.

For an extra boozy twist I used my own homemade Gin Mincemeat. You could easily pimp up a jar of supermarket ready made mincemeat with a good slug of something boozy. Whisky, gin, port or brandy would all work well.

Traditions, folklore and superstitions

Stirring the mincemeat was quite an event, and English tradition dictates that it should only be stirred clockwise. Stirring the mincemeat anti-clockwise would lead to bad luck and poor fortune in the coming 12 months.

Crimp the crust to have a high rim that will act like a dam to stop overflowing filling. Check your oven for being level, so whatever filling that escapes the slashes will be distributed evenly instead of going to one side of the pie.

In the past mince pies were very different from what we enjoy today. They were stuffed with meats like mutton, rabbit, and pork which is why the filling is known as "mincemeat."

Ingredients included dried fruits like raisins prunes and figs, lamb or mutton (representing the shepherds) and spices like cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg (for the Wise Men). By late Victorian England, mince pies ceased to contain meat and had all fruit fillings (with suet).

Consider the fat content of mince before you buy. Beef mince, and sometimes lamb, is graded by its fat content, and remember that some fat is desirable as it adds flavour and helps to keep the meat moist during cooking. The standard fat content of mince is 20%, but you can opt for a lean or extra-lean version.

Mincemeat over time does deepen in colour but the bitter taste may be that you pressed too hard when the citrus zests were grated!

If I were in a mince pie emergency situation and had to use shop-bought mincemeat then I am sure it could be very nicely pepped up by adding in a few chopped apples, some spices or a slug of plum brandy.

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.

Which way do you stir mincemeat for good luck? ›

English tradition demands that the mince meat mixture should only be stirred in a clockwise direction. To stir it anticlockwise is to bring bad luck for the coming year. Another English custom is for all the family to take a turn in stirring the mincemeat mixture whilst making a wish.

Even today there are traditions associated with mince pies. When making the mincemeat mixture for the pies, for good luck it should be stirred in a clockwise direction. You should always make a wish when eating the first mince pie of the season and you should never cut one with a knife.

A metal pie pan placed on a preheated surface will set the bottom crust quickest; once cooked, the liquids from the filling above won't soak in, and as a result: no soggy bottom. (Using metal is crucial: Glass or ceramic pans don't transfer heat as efficiently, so they can be accomplices to a sad, soggy bottom.)

There are still a few rules to follow – keep everything as cool as possible and don't be too heavy handed with the pastry when it is mixed. Pastry becomes tough when it is handled too much as the gluten in the flour starts to form.

When blind baking, line the pastry with baking paper and fill to the brim with baking beans/uncooked rice, which will support the sides of the pastry and help prevent shrinkage. Start shortcrust off at 190°C/170°C fan/gas 5 to quickly set the pastry. If the oven temperature is too low, the pastry will shrink.

Mince pies have been eaten as part of a traditional British Christmas since at least the 16th century. Then they were made of a spiced, sweet minced meat mixture (often lamb), but they are now commonly made with sweet mincemeat, a mixture of dried fruits, sugar, spices, and brandy.

The "mince" in mincemeat comes from the Middle English mincen, and the Old French mincier both traceable to the Vulgar Latin minutiare, meaning chop finely. The word mincemeat is an adaptation of an earlier term minced meat, meaning finely chopped meat. Meat was also a term for food in general, not only animal flesh.

Martin Fone investigates the most traditional seasonal food of all, mince pies, and finds that they really did contain meat at one time in the past. Just be grateful you never got served one made with fish...

Mincemeat isn't difficult to make, but it has a lot of ingredients, which can make it expensive to produce in small batches, and it requires at least a day's advance planning to let the ingredients sit.