What is in a mince meat pie and where did the name come from?

Answer 1

Mincemeat developed as a way of preserving meat without salting or smoking some 500 years ago in England, where mince pies are still considered an essential accompaniment to holiday dinners just like the traditional plum pudding. This pie is a remnant of a medieval tradition of spiced meat dishes, usually minced mutton, that have survived because of its association with Christmas. This pies have also been known as Christmas Pies. Mince pie as part of the Christmas table had long been an English custom.

Answer 2

The stuff they are filled with is called mincemeat, even though it has no obvious meat in it (it does contain suet). The word goes back to the days when "meat" could mean any kind of food - the stuff from animals was called flesh. During the coldest part of winter, any nuts, berries, dried apples, stale bread and food leftovers went into a cauldron next to the fire and the resulting fruity mash was called mincemeat. It's what you ate to sustain you until spring once all the meat and vegetables had gone. It was the origin of much of our Christmas fair. When English knights went off to the Crusades, they got a taste for samosas and came home and described the delicacy to their cooks. Putting mincemeat in a pie was the closest they could get. These days, mincemeat contains mostly dried grapes (currants, raisins and sultanas), peel and suet - although the shop variety is probably made of invert sugar syrup.

Answer 3

There are two mincemeat pie's one is sweet and the other is meat from a butcher's.
1/ Make your sweet paste roll out and put on a plate then put sweet mincemeat from a jar{mince is different fruits with suet mixed together with water sugar, put in pan to boil till it thickens or you can put spirits} and put onto the plate then roll out the paste and cover the plate put a couple of vent's in the pie trim any paste that Lean's over the plate, put an egg in a glass, whisk it then get a paste brush and wipe the top of the pie. Then put it in the oven and bake at no 6 for 30 Min's.You can use custard/cream has a dessert after you main meal.

2/ you boil your mincemeat from the butcher's cut up an onion into small pieces, after it has boiled empty the contents into a colander. Make your pastry roll out and put onto the plate, put the boiled mince into a bowl and put some fresh boiled water in then you can do the gravy depends how you like it i use two oxo cubes, a bit of thickener when done put on top of pastry and cover with rolled out pastry trim ends then you can put into the oven no 6 for 30 mins. when it is done you can have mash/chips with peas. Sorry i don't now where the name came from.

Answer 4

Originally mincemeat pie was made with meat but my Great-Aunt (born 1917 - who is still alive) makes mincemeat using green tomatoes instead of any meat. So there is no suet or any kind of meat in her pies.

Answer 5

Modern mincemeat is no longer made with meat, but with dried fruit, predominately raisins and citron.