This is the first time I’ve made me own mincemeat and I have to say it was pretty darn easy. I was a bit freaked out by the whole sterilizing jars thing at first, but I’m happy to follow Nigella’s wisdom and think if they’re hot from a fresh dishwasher, you put hot mixture in them and at least make an attempt to not sneeze in them while doing so, that pretty much counts as clean. Anyway, Mr. R&R is still alive after eating two a few a significant number of mince pies, so there’s your proof.
I did a bit of internetting before setting forth, and this recipe from the lady behind the River Cottage’s preserves book struck me as being a good combination of the trad and the rad – a puree of cooked plums as well as grated apple keeps everything moist as well as tinging the mincemeat a gorgeous shade of cerise.
Plummy mincemeat
Adapted from Pam the Jam, by way of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingsall
Makes about 2kg but keeps for aaages
- 500g mixed currants, raisins and sultanas
- 180g nice candied peel (homemade recipe coming soon!), chopped
- 200g soft brown sugar
- 4 golden delicious apples, peeled and grated
- 1 heaped tablespoon marmalade (which I didn’t have, substituting honey and a bit more candied orange peel, but I think it’s a great idea)
- 3/4 tsp each of ground cloves, nutmeg, ginger and cinammon
- 3 oranges, of which 1 zested
- Zest of 1 lemon
- a small handful (sorry, forgot to weigh) of chopped walnuts
- 600g plums
- 50ml rum (or brandy, or ginger wine…)
- Jars, about 2kg worth
Halve and stone the plums and cook in a saucepan with 200ml of juice from the oranges for about 15 minutes until soft. Process them until nice and smooth, then put in a large mixing bowl with all of the rest of the ingredients apart from the alcohol. Leave to stand overnight.
Preheat the oven to 110 degrees C and find a large roasting tray. Spread out the mixture in this and cook in the oven for two hours, until the house is permeated by wafts of Christmas cheer. In the meantime, prepare the sterilized jars, basically by bunging in the dishwasher and timing it so that it finishes just as the mincemeat comes out of the oven.
Stir in a good glug of your chosen spirits (about 50ml) and then ladle the hot mixture into hot jars. Close up and store somewhere cool and dark until the mincepie urge strikes – anywhere up to a year apparently, although I can’t see mine lasting that long (mincemeat strudel, apple and mincemeat sponge, mincemeat slice, mincemeat streusel tart, mincemeat on toast… you get the idea).
2 Comments on "Plummy mincemeat"
Trackbacks for this post