Many Brits tuck into a mince pie or two over the festive season, but they used to taste a lot different to how they do now. So have you ever wondered what’s in the sweet treat?
Mince pies always go down an absolute treat over the festive season.
After all, they’re tasty, sweet and comforting – the perfect pastry to get you in the mood for the Christmas period. But, little you may know, they actually tasted very different years ago.
According to @tastinghistory on TikTok, the sweet treats used to comprise of 90% meat and 10% fruit with sugar back in the Middle Ages. The presenter, Max Miller, said this was done to help preserve the meat throughout the winter.
He explained: “By the Tudor era, they started to have more of the fruit, and less of the meat, and they would also add things like sherry or brandy to help preserve it.
“Then, in the 19th century, it was mostly fruit, and just a little bit of meat. Sometimes things like Ox tongue. I actually made that version a couple of years ago.
“They also added a little bit of alcohol during the Victorian age, but when prohibition kicked in, they really ramped it up because there was no prohibition against alcohol in food, so you’d get a jar of mincemeat and it would be like 14% alcohol.”
Since the video was shared online, people have been left gobsmacked by the revelation. It’s fair to say that many people cherish their mince pie recipes too.
One person said: “I have relatives by marriage who still make it with mostly meat. The meat looks like badly cooked pot roast – stringy and dry.” Another added: “I was under the impression the ‘meat’ in mincemeat was mainly fat, suet or lard.”
A third also chimed in with: “I figured it was just referring to nut meat!” Meanwhile, a fourth commented: “I’ve got a really tasty recipe using lamb mince.”
If you’re wondering what a traditional mince pie looked like way back in 1798, Our Heritage of Health has dug out a recipe. What you need to whip one up is as follows:
- 1lbs beef
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 lbs (about 3 cups) of apples, peeled and chopped
- 1/3 cup suet chopped into small pieces (or tallow, or coconut oil or butter)
- 3/4 cup apple cider
- 1tbs ground mace (or you can substitute nutmeg if you don’t have mace)
- 1/2tbs ground cinnamon
- 1/2tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 dried currants
- 3tb. chopped candied citron pieces (optional)
- Pie pastry for top and bottom crust. Must be able to fit a 9inch pie plate
