why is the filling for mince pies called mince meat? Its not meat.?

Question

I love eating mince pies. Especially deep filled ones with cream or custard. However I am wondering how they got to be called mince pies and how the sweet fruit filling became known as mincemeat

Answer 1

it is a weird one isn't

Answer 2

Reading in the Tesco magazine,there is a piece on Mince Pies. They were introduced in England during the 1500's,and they were made from mince meat. It was a tradition to eat a pie for each of the 12 days of Christmas,so the following 12 months would be happy. I wouldn't suggest doing nowadays,as each mince pie contains around 200 calories.Mind you,the dentist wouldn't like it either,imagine all those bad teeth after eating that lot.

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
why is the filling for mince pies called mince meat? Its not meat.?
I love eating mince pies. Especially deep filled ones with cream or custard. However I am wondering how they got to be called mince pies and how the sweet fruit filling became known as mincemeat

Answer 4

Mince Pie Origin

Answer 5

There are some people that make mince MEAT pies... my grandpa loves mince meat pies, my grandma makes them all the time for him and they really do have meat in them. I don't know why they think they are so good but I can't stand the thought of eating a pie made out of meat. I did try a bite once and it was sweet though.

Answer 6

Mincemeat was originally a conglomeration of bits of meat, dried fruit and spices, created as an alternative to smoking or drying for preservation, a variant form of sausage. Mincemeat containing actual meat has become less common over the years. The customary form today typically consists of raisins, spices, grated apple, and animal suet, though many commercial varieties use hard vegetable fat instead, making it completely vegetarian. Mincemeat may also contain currants, candied fruits, and brandy, rum or other liquor.

Answer 7

Mince pies, when they are made to the traditional English recipe, have what is called mincemeat in them.

modern mincemeat is made up of a sweet, spicy mixture of small pieces of apple, dried fruit and nuts. The Victorian mincemeat would have had pork or beef in, hence the name

the word mincemeat is olde English and is part of the family of words which come under the olde English term sweetmeat. a sweetmeat is any a small piece of sweet food, such as a cake etc that has amongst other things ,made up of or covered in sugar, just like mince pies.

its just that terms and usage, as well as recipes, change over time. hope this helps
for more info click the link
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mincepie

Answer 8

Mincemeat was originally a conglomeration of bits of meat, dried fruit and spices, created as an alternative to smoking or drying for preservation, a variant form of sausage. Mincemeat containing actual meat has become less common over the years. The customary form today typically consists of raisins, spices, grated apple, and animal suet, though many commercial varieties use hard vegetable fat instead, making it completely vegetarian. Mincemeat may also contain currants, candied fruits, and brandy, rum or other liquor.

Answer 9

Where on earth have you seen a mince pie with CUSTARD in? That's not a mince pie anymore, that's custard...
Anyway, they used to put a mixture of allsorts of stuff including mince into the mixture.

Answer 10

[edit] Description
These small pies, usually between 2 and 3 inches in diameter (5-7.5 centimetres), can be made using either sweet shortcrust pastry or puff pastry. The American version of the mince pie can be much larger (8-10 inches or 20-25 centimetres).

The origin of the word 'mincemeat' is of interest, especially as most modern mincemeat does not contain any meat whatsoever, save for the Amish variety, which often contains pork, beef or sausage. Up to Victorian times, the mince(meat) pie would have actually have been a spiced meat pie with some dried fruit. Nowadays, the only remnant of the original meat is the inclusion of suet. Typically, the filling is now made entirely from fruit-based mincemeat containing dried fruit such as raisins, currants, glace cherries, apricot, candied peel; spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg; nuts such as walnuts or chopped almonds; suet; and some kind of alcohol, usually either brandy or rum. Mince pies are suitable for vegetarians only if the suet is replaced by vegetable fat.

Once cooked, the pie is often finished off with a delicate dusting of either caster sugar or icing sugar on top.


[edit] History
The origins of the mince pie begins with the medieval pastry, chewette which was either fried or baked. The "chewette" actually contained liver or chopped meat mixed with boiled eggs and ginger. Dried fruit and sweet ingredients would be added to the chewette's filling for variety. By the 16th century 'mince' or shred pie was considered a Christmas specialty. In the mid-17th century the liver and chopped meat was replaced by suet and meat products were no longer generally used in the 'mince' by the 19th century in both North America and Great Britain though traditional suet pies are still made it is no longer the dominant form. [1]


[edit] Folklore and Traditions
Folklore states that mince pies are a favourite food of Father Christmas, and that one or two should be left on a plate at the foot of the chimney (along with a small glass of brandy, sherry or milk, and a carrot for the reindeer) as a thank-you for stockings well-filled.

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.

Tradition also says that one should make a wish whilst eating one's first mince pie of the festive season, and that mince pies should always be eaten in silence.

Eating at least one mince pie on each of the twelve days of Christmas is thought by some people to bring luck for the coming year.

Mince pies should traditionally have a star on top, to represent the Christmas Star which some believe led the shepherds and Magi to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.


[edit] Variations
Wikibooks Cookbook has more about this subject:
Mince pieOther variations include the mincemeat tart, similar in form and taste, save for the lack of a pastry top, as is the case for all kinds of tart.

Mincemeat turnovers (a kind of sweet pastry similar to a Cornish pasty) are often made with leftover pastry and mincemeat, and can be consumed with custard, cream or ice-cream.

In New Zealand mince pies have meat in them, and sometimes they have cheese as well.

The 'petit pâté de Pézenas', a local speciality of the French town of Pézenas, Hérault département, is similar in content to the original British mince pie.

Answer 11

Yeah, way back in the olden days,they used to make it out of the meat from the animal's head (not the brains) and dried fruit, but now they just leave the meat out.