10 thoughts on “Continuing the Christmas theme…”

  2. Mmm, mince pies. I eat a lot of mince pies in December. Don’t think I’d ever make them myself though. That would be too many mince pies within reach at one time.

  4. Mincemeat… Which doesn’t in this context have anything to do with minced meat (although you can of course also have mince pies that do contain minced meat; no of course it’s not confusing). Is this a British thing at all? (Google.com and Google.uk do seem to be giving somewhat different results on this.)

    Well, sweet mincemeat is a mix of dried fruit (and sometimes fresh fruit like apples), candied peel, spices and (sometimes) alcohol, plus suet to hold it together; the ingredients/proportions vary slightly in different recipes. It should be quite tart and spicy,not too sweet. Historically, mince pies were actually a mix of savoury and sweet; somewhere along the line the meat disappeared.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A663626
    http://www.historicfood.com/Pie%20recipe2.htm
    http://www.bbc.co.uk/shropshire/features/christmas/mince_pies.shtml

    There are really two different types of mince pie: deep ones with sweet pastry (which I don’t like very much) and shallow ones made with either puff or shortcrust pastry (yum yum).

  7. It takes yer four bites to eat a mince pie? How very dainty of one!

    Still, very seasonal. Don’t forget to leave out some sherry as well for the big guy. I’m off now to watch us make mincemeat out of Everton.

  8. Claire: Amazing what I can do for a blogging opportunity, isn’t it? :)

    Steve: And that includes the self-restraint of the dainty nibbling… the real pictures of ‘Sharon guzzles mince pie’ would not be pretty, oh no.

  10. I only buy them individually. It’s the Rule. Fortunately (or unfortunately), there are about four different local shops that cater to the Rule…

    And that’s without even thinking about the almond tart in the deli which I nobly resisted this afternoon.

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