My parents did a lot of baking as Christmas approached. I remember the first sign of the coming holiday would be my parents making the fruit cake. It would be made first so the flavours would have a chance to blend and of course the rum poured on it to soak into it. I still enjoy homemade fruit cake when it’s made well.
But my favourite holiday food is mincemeat pies and tarts. It’s something that comes from my British roots. They also seem to be something the younger generation doesn’t eat as much of anymore. I remember deciding a few years back that I’d make some tarts for Christmas. I don’t normally bake as it’s just me to eat it and well, I don’t need to be eating baked goods.
Shopping for Mincement
Off I went to the grocers to get a bottle of mincemeat filling. It comes canned as well but usually the best made ones are bottled. I glanced around the baked good section and didn’t see any so I asked at the cash register.
The twenty something clerk immediately directed me to the meat counter. I told her it’s a pie filling usually should be in the baking goods part of the store. No, she insisted, I should go to the meat department.
Thinking maybe they were keeping it chilled, off I went. No, not a bottle in sight. I asked one of the people working in the department. Another twenty something fellow replied they don’t carry it. As I was walking away a customer who had heard my inquiries called after me and pointed to the top shelf in the baking section. There sat six bottles of what I sought.
As I thanked her and headed for it she laughed and said… “they had no idea what you were asking for. They were guessing.” I laughed and agreed.
My mother used to add chopped apples and orange rinds to the bottle of filling and then a generous addition of rum before simmering it on the stove while preparing the pastry. The spices in the filling would permeate the house leaving me looking forward to dessert as much as the turkey.
Green Tomato Mincemeat
A few years ago one of the guys at the service club I was serving as President of brought me in a mincemeat pie his wife had made. He’d heard me say how I enjoyed mincement. It was delicious. A few days later he brought me in the recipe for their mincemeat. I was startled to learn it was made with green tomatoes. I didn’t even know that was possible.
I found this post on a blog from 2013. It’s not mine but it’s a great post on the making of green tomato mincemeat with pictures that will let you follow the process as it becomes mincement, and even looks like what we used to buy from the store. Who knows, maybe it has been made with green tomato all these years.
OH almost forgot I was supposed to invite another lady to take part.. @harlowjourney how about you since the blog post I shared was about fall on the prairies.
What is Mincemeat?
The British are credited for the origins of mincemeat pies or “mince pies” as they call them. The ingredients actually have their origins in the Middle East. The European Crusaders returning from there brought with them the knowledge of the Middle Eastern cooking methods using meats, fruits and spices. The pies created from this method of cooking included shredded meat, suet, fruits and spices.
The meat, fruits and spices were symbolic of the gifts brought to Jesus from the biblical Magi making the pies most popular at Christmas time. They were originally an oblong shape to represent they manger. The connection to the Crusades and Catholicisms had the Puritans frowning upon the pies viewing them as idolatry.
Over time the meat disappeared from the mincemeat and the large oblong shape gave way to the pies and tarts more commonly seen today.
I haven’t had a mincemeat pie or tart in several years but I usually think about it at this time of year. One of these times I guess I should break down and do some baking. Maybe next Christmas.
NOTE: header image is from Pixabay.com.
This post was written for the Ladies of Hive Challenge #62
Shadowspub is a writer from Ontario, Canada. She writes on a variety of subjects as she pursues her passion for learning. She also writes on other platforms and enjoys creating books you use like journals, notebooks, coloring books etc.
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