Mincemeat...too often maligned and definitely misunderstood

 

Mincemeat recipe from BBC Good Food James Martin

As a child, mincemeat seemed like an unpleasant mystery to me.  I didn't like the idea of "minced meat," and definitely did not want to consider having it in a pie. As an adult I remember at my first Thanksgiving held outside of my familial home, a "friends-giving," a friend brought a home-made mincemeat pie of which he was quite proud.  No one ate it.  

Even once I understood that the mincemeat pies of today no longer contain any actual meat, but simply ground suet (the pre-cursor to vegetable shortening), the idea did not thrill me.  Somewhere between that time and 2020, with my long-time love of historic foodways, vintage recipes, pre-1940 women's magazines, and watching every single episode of Victorian Farm, Edwardian Farm, Wartime Farm and Tudor Farm I could get my hands on (multiple times), I longed to try these recipes.  The first batch I made was in 2020.  Having actually broken out and used my digital scale, I was awestruck by the accuracy of using grams rather than standard American measurements in a recipe.  I got exactly the amount you see above as predicted by the recipe.  Perfectly so. This amazed me for some reason.  So much so that I now prefer to work with recipes that provide gram measurements. When we tried it in little pies, it was delicious. I used the best quality ingredients. One might even say it was divine. My sons and I loved it. *A single note of warning, if you can find a butcher to grate you 300 grams of suet do it.  Your arm will thank you. I bought my own and grated it frozen.  It worked, but it ain't easy.

Those four pint jars went a long way. I looked up uses and had found a mincemeat muffin recipe which was very good.  Fast forward to 2023 when I made my second batch. I had planned to gift some to my neighbors only to find out they were moving to a more vegan diet. I ended up keeping the lot.  Not everyone can bake or wants to, and many still hold an unnatural, albeit understandable fear and misunderstanding of mincemeat.

Fast forward two years later as of today and when going out to our garage refrigerator I remembered I had one jar left.  I wondered...could it still possibly be good? I opened it and gave it the smell test.  It smelled fine.  It didn't smell off, or like an old refrigerator, or even stale. I thought about using it up, as of course, the holidays are right around the corner, and it's almost time to make more mincemeat.

Last year's holiday season was a blur.  My adult son had to suddenly move back home in early December.  The remainder of December was spent re-arranging our home and lives to make the necessary space. Note to self: holiday time is not the ideal time to do this.  During that time my former husband underwent massive heart surgery and my husband's car died. We experienced a significant and noticeable lack of merriment over last holiday season. With life settling down a little this year, I am looking forward to re-instating my traditional baking, including a plum pudding put together on stir-up Sunday.

But back to the mincemeat. This well preserved food item reminded me of just how long we had to make do and preserve food as best as we could before refrigeration.  With the rising prices of the  present day (where suddenly ground meat and stew beef are luxury items), I am eternally grateful for having been raised by two people who survived the depression. My list of skills in preserving and using up and making do is virtually endless. As is the ingrained personality trait of "waste not, want not." In a world that feels like it's moving backward, these are the skills to have.

So, I took my now nearly two year old jar of mincemeat and pulled out the mincemeat muffin recipe, only I decided I felt it would be better as a scone.  I pulled out my scone pan and got to work, just a little bit nervous of how the final product might come out. Turns out I had nothing to worry about.  They came out beautifully and I topped them off with a simple vanilla orange glaze. I've included the recipe below with my gluten free modifications.  So I say, give mincemeat a chance.

                                           

Mincemeat Muffins original recipe from Dinner With Julie.  My substitutions for my gluten free version are below:

Gluten Free Mincemeat Muffins

250 grams of Better Batter Gluten Free flour

1/3 cup white sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp pumpkin spice mix or cake spice mix 

3/4 c whole milk

1/3 light olive oil

1 large egg

1 packed cup of mincemeat (the home made is on the dryer side compared to a store bought such as Tiptree so do not pack for a jarred brand that has more liquid)

Icing: 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 1-2 Tblsp orange juice w/zest mixed together until smooth.

Mix together dry ingredients, toss in mincemeat and blend, add wet ingredients.  Bake at 375 w/either 12 muffin pan or 8 section scone pan, 25 minutes.  Remove from pan and put approximately 1 Tblsp of glaze over each muffin.  

"Time and tide wait for no man." - Geoffrey Chaucer

 

(My first creative effort in over four years - I attended a wreath making workshop.)

Where have I been? 

Shockingly, my last post was in April of 2020.  The world was knee deep in the unknown of a pandemic.  Four years have gone by in what feels like a blur.  What have I been doing? 

In the last four years I have:

finished my undergraduate degree in psychology

completed my graduate degree in Social Work

completed two internships

and have been working full-time in my chosen profession as a mental health social worker for the last 1.5 years. 

I have also gained two grandsons, said goodbye to two very reliable vehicles after many years of service, had one son graduate highschool, one son enter college, and one adult child move back home.  With that came the bittwersweet end of 20 years of homeschooling as I watched two little boys grow into very fine young men. I also lost two beloved dogs to different illnesses in a six-month time span, and later adopted two more.

I have struggled with my health as I navigated last stage perimenopause and now, the beginnings of menopause. During this time my husband remained supportive and steadfast as we both wondered why people do not talk of these things more often.  Needless to say, there will be future posts on this topic.

I have navigated two moderately disturbing plumbing emergencies, the kind that often plague homes that are 230 years old, and watched every year for the last four years as Spring began in my garden, and I full of robust intentions, approached Autumn feeling overwhelmed and facing a yard that more resembled an abandoned property than the English Garden of my dreams. To add to that, a dear woman who had been my garden saviour, passed away at an age far too close to my own, and I cannot enter the garden without remembering her.

It's been busy to say the least.  However, throughout it all, I have never wanted to end this blog.  This insignificant hobby, few of followers.  I just did not know where or when or why I would begin again, nor how it would look. 

I am still not sure. After years of stewing in academics, I found myself dry, uninspired and even unable to read for pleasure for some time. I spent so much time in achievement mode, finding time to unwind became another item on the list.

Underneath all of these events, tidings and happenings, I am simply a woman navigating life, aging and change, and although I very much inhabit the modern lifestyle in many ways, I have never lost my yearnings for simplicity, quiet, and the simple comforts of home and the work of my hands.  My sons and I dream of having our farm again, and of the peace and solitude of country life.

So, intrepid reader, whoever you may be, here we go.