Best mincemeat recipe for mince pies and puddings
Comments(95)
Mince pies are the quintessential Christmas treat. But every year loads of us bite into a proffered mince pie and resolve never to accept one again. it’s a shame as nothing beats a homemade one, bursting with mincemeat and a slug of brandy. I always make a few on Christmas Eve. I was pretty smug about them until Anne Mary mentioned that she always made her own mincemeat. I’m embarrassed to admit this but five years ago I didn’t know that you could make your own. I rushed home and thumbed through our cookbooks, convinced that it would be a complicated grinding, sieving, mincing process. It’s not. It’s really easy.
There was one major drawback, most of the recipes that I found produced mincemeat with a short shelf life. The apples often start to ferment after a couple of months. I didn’t want to make just the one jar or a batch to give away labeled “Unstable contents. Eat me within two months as I might explode”.
Then I struck gold, Delia Smith’s ‘Complete Illustrated Cookery Course’ includes a recipe that solves the fermentation problem. We have tweaked it over the years and now just stick to the original with one exception. We replace the candied peel (we are not fans) with halved glacé cherries (we’re addicted to these). We add the cherries with the brandy when the mincemeat comes out of the oven and has cooled down. Delia’s mincemeat recipe is simple to make and absolutely delicious. Luckily she has published the recipe on her website and the link is here.
Great mincemeat is not just for mince pies at Christmas. Delia has a lot of recipe ideas for puddings on her site that are worth checking out. Danny stuffed cooking apples with a jar of mincemeat that he found loitering in the fridge. Baked for for 40 minutes in a moderate oven they have become one of our favourite puds at this time of year.
Tips and tips:
- If you are pressed for time you can adapt shop bought mincemeat by adding a small handful of halved glacé cherries and sultanas soaked overnight in brandy. Always add a teaspoon of brandy to shop mince pies. The best shop bought mince pies are the luxury ones from M&S and Waitrose.
- Update November 2009:
- As Delia says the mincemeat has a really long shelflife. I opened a jar from our 2006 batch tonight and it’s fine!
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I am making mince filling and am adapting Delia’s recipe and this recipe http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/recipes/article2181195.ece to my own liking. Basically – I have to use butter as I live in Ukraine and suet comes salted here.
My question – does sealling mean that I have to can/ bottle it? Or can I just throw it in a jar and screw the lid on tight? Thanks
Hello Sarah
Put the warm mincemeat into hot sterilised jars and screw on the lid tight. This should seal it. Once opened keep in the fridge.
Hi, my mum used to make her own mincemeat every year, and I have managed to loose the receipe. From looking at most of the receipes around alcohol of some kind is added, but my mum’s never had any and she used a hand mincer to put through all the ingreidients apart from ground almonds, suet and spices. Could you give me some hints on recreating this receipe? Hopefully yours, Lin
Hi Lin
I’m sorry but I can’t help you as this is the only recipe for mincemeat that I have tried.
Hello Lin- as mincemeat is made well in advance of christmas and was used to cook with other fruits and meat for the rest of winter, it has to be preserved. The sugar and the alchohol preserve it in good condition for months or even years. If you make mincemeat without alchohol and try to store it, it will ferment and the tops will blow off your jars- I know this from experience…if you want to make alchohol free mincemeat you need to make it when you are going to use it, use it fast and store it in the fridge while it awaits use.It will still be delicious, it just will not keep. Use any mincemeat recipe you like the sound of, just omit the booze and make it within, to be safe, three days of when it will be used. Hope that helps.
Personally, I don’t mince the dried fruits, I only grate the apple: soak them in a little hot tea overnight so they plump up, stir them into the mincemeat, then as they cook they will release their juice into the mincemeat, means you can reduce the suet and the sugar and they will be lovely and tender to eat.
Hi, I made this recipe today but I put the brandy in the mixture before cooking it. Tomorrow when I take it out of the oven and it cools down should I put some more brandy in so that I preserve it longer? Regards xxx
Hello Nina
If I was you I’d add some more brandy when it cools down as this will preserve it well.
Help,
I made the delia mincemeat recipe (the slow heated one) three weeks ago and im not sure if ive done something wrong. The mincemeat looks emulsified / cloudy in appearance. Should it look like this and will it change when it comes to cooking ?
Hello Mel
Mine looks the same but it changes when it’s cooked and is fine.
I’m weighing out the ingredients for the first stage of Delia’s mincemeat, but am a bit concerned about whether to put it in jars when still hot. Your recommendation (above, to Sarah) is to put it in jars when warm, which is what I’ve done on the few occasions I’ve made jammy things in the past. Delia says to put the mincemeat jars when cold, but surely that won’t make the vacuum that is needed to preserve it?
In Delia’s picture, she seems to be using those jars with the orange rubber ring. Do you know whether that makes a difference to the sealing/vacuum business, compared with normal jars?
Thanks in anticipation!
Hi Anna
I put the cold mincemeat into warm sterilised jars and this seems to do the trick (ordinary jars with plastic lined metal lids. It keeps for years.
Delia is using Le Parfait jars. They’d be fine too!
Hi Fiona.
Long time no visit you, but always a great pleasure. To remember my time over UK, YU always make the English christmas pudding. This year I decided to switch to mince pies for us, family and friends. I´ve just store my mincemeat today, altough it´s a bit late, I guess it´ll do fine by Christmas day, and much better for Epiphany.
We´re all looking forward to give them a try
Thanks
Thank you for your advice. I went for the Le Parfait jars in the end as we had a few rattling around. I made my first batch of mince pies with homemade mincemeat and they were delicious! Like Christmas pudding wrapped in pastry – yum.
Hi, We live on an Island and the local shops have run out of jars of mincemeat! For my husband and I christmas will not be the same without mincepies. I was ready to despair and then thought…make your own! Well I do not have any jars for storage so if I made a half quantity of Delia’s recipe would it store in the fridge for a couple of days in plastic storage tubs?
Hi Caroline
Yes it would store well in the fridge. If you do find some jars it last for ages, as Delia says. It will look cloudy but it will be safe to eat and look fine in mince pies.
Thank you for your prompt reply! Great web site which I will be back to browse soon!
I will try the mincemaet recipe tomorrow, hope all goes well!
after you make the mincement you can always freeze what youj don’t need. won’t hurt it a bit and it removes all worry about it spoiling…
I usually make my mince pies and freeze them uncooked. They are almost instant when you want them – well 20 mins, but always freshly baked to order and no need to worry about the mincemeat keeping. I don’t use nay fat in mine but lots of alcohol.
I’ve made Delia’s recipe for the last two years as I can’t get mincemeat in the shops here in France. I also can’t buy suet but finally found one butcher who gave me some beef fat that I put in the freezer and then grate. He couldn’t believe I was going to make something sweet with it! It’s a bit of a drag though and I’m wondering whether I can leave the suet out this year? Also, whether the suet I grated last year and froze in December 2008 is likely to be OK to use this year? Any ideas?
hello sarah. there is a recipe for suet free mincemeat in nigella lawson’s domestic goddess book. i did it a few years ago and it was good. Atora brand vegetable suet comes in 250g packets with long use by dates – i could post you some. i only grated my own suet once and have used atora since then.
the suet in the freezer will probably be fine, but if you defrost a little bit and smell it, you’ll know if it’s okay as fat beginning to go rancid has a distinctive pong.
Hi Sarah
I think Delia’s recipe is excellent and it keeps for years! I reckon that the beef fat would probably be fine after a year – annajp is right it would smell rancid if it’s not.
Hi Annajp
Thanks for leaving this helpful comment. I had no idea how much isn’t available in France.
I have used Delia’s mincemeat recipe for years but we have now retired to Sri Lanka where I find it difficult to store the mincemeat. I freeze it but it seems to dry out. Any advice? I still use Delia’s recipe! By the way passing the suet through the mincer a couple or three times works just as well as grating it and is MUCH EASIER!
Hi Arlene
My ‘Delia’ mincemeat always looks a bit dry in the jars but when warm looks and tastes great. No other ideas for storing it I’m afraid.
Thanks for the idea of defrosting a bit of the suet and then smelling it Anna. Turns out my home grated beef fat was fine after a year in the freezer so good to know it keeps well. Just made this years batch of Delias mincemeat which smells great – next stop the lemond gin recipe as we’ve missed the sloes this year.
Hi FN
thanks for your comment. I will now confidently go ahead and use it. I’ve about three jars left from last year.
People – you can replace suet with butter, same quantity. Also if you want to be sure about preserving it use a large jar of ready made bramley apple sauce in place of grated fresh apples. But take care to check the sweetness and possibly reducing the sugar to compensate. This will preserve your mincement perfectly aswell as giving it a nice moist texture and the real bonus is that it removes the need to slow cook the mincemeat and it will not explode, promise. T
Hi Tina Q
Thank you very much for these tips. Next time I make this I’m definitely going to use Bramley apple sauce in the recipe.
HELP…….. I left my Maid to complete the mincemeat while we were out and on checking found that the suet had not melted. She had already added the Brandy. I do hope it will keep?!!!!
This is a great website. Thank you for hosting it. I used to have a hobby farm in west Wales, but now live in California. Your receipes are great for ex-pats looking for a taste of home!
I’ll be back often.
Hello Arlene
I’m sorry but I missed this comment. If this happened to me I’d gently heat it again to melt the suet and bottle it in hot, clean sterilised jars.
Hello Peter
Thank you for leaving such a positive comment, much appreciated.
my Delia recipe mincemeat is fermenting.! can I still use it safely?
Hi Janet
Something has gone wrong as Delia’s mincemeat shouldn’t ferment.
I wouldn’t take a chance with it if I was you.
I’ve just made this recipe, smells and tastes delicious, but I don’t have enough of it to fill my large Kilner Jar, it’s about 2″ from the top. Will this still keep ok? I have put baking parchment discs on top of the mincemeat and as per Delia’s instructions, I put it in the sterilised jar once it had gone cold.
I’ve never made mincemeat before so I’m afraid I won’t notice if it goes off because of the gap.
Next time I think I’ll grate the apples as a previous poster did because I think my small chunks of apple are a bit ‘obvious’.
So hoping the batch I’ve made will be ok, it smells so good already! I’ve kept the sealed jar in the fridge just in case!
Hi Jac
I’m sorry but I don’t know the answer to your question. I would advise to leave it for 24 hours and then unclip the metal and test the seal. If it is secure I would say that everything is OK.
I live in Germany and can’t get Bramley’s. What can i substitute them for?
Hi Candy
Any cooking apple will do. If they are not available use tart eating apples and two tablespoons of lemon juice.
Hi there, this might sound like heresy – for which I apologise in advance – but is it possible to make this in the microwave instead of in a conventional oven?
Many thanks.
Hi Ann
I can’t really help you as I’ve no experience of microwave ovens. If you can bake in yours I would imagine that you could bake the mincemeat too.
OK! – and thanks for replying so quickly. Maybe I’ll make a small batch in the microwave and see what happens…
I’ve made my mincemeat, I put extra booze in it and now it’s fermenting !!! What can I do , it’s leaking out of the jars. Please help!!!!
Hi Diane
I have no ide how you deal with this problem. Did you use the Delia recipe ? It’s the only one that I have found that keeps for years literally.
It fermented last year too, I’ve used this recipe for years now and before it’s always been fine, but last year I put extra booze in it and it seemed to ferment , I used it all the same and it was fine, but I just happened to do the same again this year (did I not learn last time)I wondered if anyone new a way to stop the fermenting as the juice oozes out the tops!!!!!
the mince pies tastes lovely especially with an almond topping , one just isn’t enough…
@ Diane. In theory, you’d need to kill off the yeast, or at least slow it down (fermentation is when yeast eats the sugar and produces alcohol as a by product)… I’d try freezing the batch for about a week and then either keeping it in the freezer or if you’re feeling brave, take it out and see what happens!
Next time, make sure you wash all the fruit thoroughly – it could be that some natural yeast worked its way in on the apples or something – it’s the white dusting you sometimes see.
Anyhow, I’m just about to make this recipe again. Did it last year with added glace cherries and chopped almonds to give it a bit of crunch. I’m actually considering giving it away as a present to my expat friends!
Hi, I too enjoy ‘Delia’recipies, yes the mincemeat is heavenly especially with the addition of slivers of almonds, pecans added aswell as the ground almonds. I too wash my dried fruit,lay to dry on sterile T.Towels, soak in brandy overnight (fruit plumps up beautifully),omit the peel and add halved cherries! Guess we have the same tastes…..I do this for Christmas cakes, puddings also.
The reason that I have the palaver of ‘washing the dried fruit is have you ever saw the stalks,mouldly looking fruit pips that is in so called ready washed fruit?
This method is time consuming but well worth it, it’s good to know those ‘bits’ that you’re crunching on are nuts….or perhaps I am for being so particular! LOL ‘FOOD FOR THOUGHT’ though!
Lv Odelle X.
Hi, I’m making mincemeat for the first time this year as i’m trying to have a truly homemade Christmas! I’m so looking forward to the delicions smells in the kitchen – and house!! – while everythings cooking, but was wondering if it would work as well with ground almonds instead of the almond slivers??
Thankyou
Hi Cazzy
I think that a lot of the texture would be lost.
Hi Fn Cazzy,
I always add both ground almonds slivers of almonds to homemade mincemeat,Christmas cakes puddings as I do love the almonds, they give a good taste texture.I often omit currants,making up the amount of fruit with raisins sultanas. I don’t add mixed peel either preferring halved extra glace cherries instead.
I suppose in the end it’s down to personal preference taste, I do think that adding ground almonds is required though, as this is like adding flour to a cake.
I’m sure that your home-made Christmas will smell beautifully throughout your home with all those lovely ingredients cooking and wafting through the house!
MMMm…all butter sweet pastry encasing your own mincemeat filling it’ll be all good.
Sainsburys own sweet pastry is pricey but the nearest I’ve ever found to making your own if your pushed for time,great if your making pastry yourself!….
Good Luck,whichever you decide it’ll be far superior to any shop bought produce you will have the aroma of fruit,spices,pastries for that special smell we all associate with the holiday season.
Lv Odelle X.
I’ve just made Delia’s mincemeat and its sat cooling as I type.
Looking at it I’m quite scared that I’ve done something wrong as it seems to have gone very dark, it almost looks burnt.
If anything I put the oven slightly cooler than the recipe states, and I took the mincemeat out after 2 hours 40 minutes rather than leaving it for the full 3 hours.
Can someone reassure me that I’ve done it right?
Hi Cat
It sounds as if you’ve done it right. The mincemeat is quite dark. The key test is how does it taste. Does it taste burnt?
Hi Candy (29th September 2010),
My German friend tells me that “Boskopp” is the best apple variety for cooking with. That’s what I’m making my mincemeat with this year- they’re not quite as sour as Bramleys, but still pretty good.
Phew, thats reassuring, thank you!
No, it didn’t taste, or smell, burnt, and once it was cooled and I’d added the brandy it looked a lot better. I’ve just put it into jars (and made the Christmas cake which is now in the oven) and I’m feeling a lot happier about it.
I think if I make it again I’m going to put fewer currants in and replace them with dried cranberries.
Hi thanks for the replies, i made the mincemeat and the smell was amazing! Can’t wait until i make the mince pies!!
Then in a couple of weeks i’m going to make the Christmas cake, can’t wait for that either!!
I made my aunt’s mincemeat pie filling recipe over a year ago. It called for clean beef suet, raisins, apples, plum juice, currants, spices and a little bit of brandy. “Grind and refrigerate” is the last sentence. I know from family folklore that she used to let it sit for a year before she made her pies and they were always amazing. She is gone from us now and I am slightly hesitant to bake and eat this filling without her reassurance it will not poison anyone. It has not been cooked or sealed in sterilized jars but it seems to smell just fine, just like I remember. Any suggestions what I should do?
Hi,
Does anyone know if you can leave the mixture in the Delia recipe to stand for a bit longer than 12 hours? I need to make mine tonight and then I am in work all day so will put it in the oven tomorrow evening. I’m hoping if someone know if leaving it for these 20 hours instead will spoil it or affect it at all. Thanks
Hi Angharad
I think that if its left to stand in the fridge it will be OK – no promises though.
Thanks for the quick reply I’ll give that a try and see what happens
Odelle sent this message by email:
Hi Angharad, re: Best mincemeat recipes:-
I can’t see any problem at all leaving the mixture to stand for extra time, it’ll allow the full flavour to develop and may even improve it, if that’s possible………
No problems at all, so you go ahead with your mixture, I imagine that it will be beautiful, let us know though!
Happy Baking!
Lv Odelle.
Angharad, I always leave mine to stand overnight and I’ve never had any problems (even when I was eating the mincemeat more than a year later) so you should be fine. Just be sure that the jars you put it in are sterile as an extra precaution.
LJ, It probably depends on how much alcohol there is in that little bit of brandy. If it isn’t fermenting and there is no other visible sight or smell of spoilage perhaps you could risk testing it on yourself? Make a small mince pie and nibble on the corner of it?
Roz.
I use the recipe for suet-free mincemeat which you can find in the ‘How to be a Domestic Goddess’ book by Nigella Lawson. The recipe is also online. Last week I was called on to make a batch for my work colleagues who so loved them last year. This is using mincemeat I made in 2008. No fermentation. I put the mincemeat in sterilised jars with a wax disc and the lid screwed on tightly. This still tastes amazing.
Hi Kooky Girl,
Would love to try the recipe that you suggested, Nigella Lawson recipe without suet,I love the idea of using butter for mince-pies, always up for a challenge, trying out new recipes ideas, where will I find this site?
Would be much obliged if you can point me in the right direction.
Many thanks,
Odelle.
Thanks for all your comments, I left it to stand cooked it and it smells and tastes really good even before having time to mature. I’m very glad I found the suggestion for the recipe on here
Hi Angharad,
So pleased that you’re happy with your mincemeat with this site which I find invaluable!
Fiona, Danny and all the people that contribute are wonderful, they’re all so kind, generous helpful and it’s lots of fun!
I’m sure that you Angharad, like I will become a frequent visitor.
Enjoy your cooking,
Odelle.
Hi folks,
I was making a christmas cake tonight, and had a lot of fruit left over so I decided to make some mincemeat with it. I followed Delia’s recipe but only thing is, I didnt have any suet and decided to use lard instead- I know I should have waited to get some!! Have I ruined all my work? Would the mince pies be edible/ good to eat with lard?
Hi there,
Im going to attempt to make this tonight but only have cognac in the cupboard before I rush out to the supermarket is it Ok to substitute the brandy for cognac??
Hi Caroline
Yes the cognac would be fine!
I’m a bit confused as to how to can mincemeat as I’d like to make some now and put them in Christmas baskets as gifts.
Since there’s meat or some suet in the recipe, typically that means you must can using a pressure cooker. If it’s a fruit in the recipe, then you need to add acid of some sort and a ton of sugar to preserve using the water bath method. I’ve seen the non-method of the wax circles, which doesn’t prevent botulism from forming.
So what is the correct canning method in this case? Thanks!
Hello there – I am a newcomer to this website and I have to say, I found these comments very useful! I made Delia’s mincemeat for the first time this week and am a newcomer to the whole home made mincemeat process. I wanted to ask, when my mincemeat was cool enough to add in the brandy it seemed to look paler than I expected – is this normal? I was expecting it to look glossier, runnier and darker (like shop-bought) but it was kind of thicker, stickier and paler. Or is that just the suet melting and reforming? I made two batches and both had the same outcome!
Hi Hannah
I understand your point. Delia’s recipe doesn’t look like the supermarket brands but tastes far better and lasts for longer in sterilised jars. When served as minced pies the mincemeat looks almost the same as supermarket ones but the taste is out of this world!
Don’t fall at the first fence. Impress your family/friends!
Hi,
Just to say thank you for this article and all the comments. I now live in Estonia and am determined to make mince pies this year. I used butter as I have been unable to find suet. Also went for dried cherries we can get here as candied peel is available, but very expensive.
Well it’s all prepared and ready to sit for 12 hours, hope it turns out ok. Thank you again.
Have been bitten by the bug of making homemade relishes and chutneys this year, have now decided to try homemade mincemeat and you’ve persuaded me to try Delia’s recipe. My grandmother always made mince pies for the whole family every year with an amazing pastry using ground almonds. This was the only way I would eat mince pies as I’m not actually a huge fan of dried fruits, but after reading all these comments I’m definitely going to give it a go. Do you think it would work replacing some of the currants with more apple?
Thankyou for your reassurance! It was the appearance that worried me really but its been in the jars for a week now and seems perfectly fine, can’t wait to cook some in a pie and see what it tastes like! Thanks for all the helpful advice!
Hi, I am also thinking of making mincemeat for the first time this year. I am hoping to take some to my ex-pat friend in Chile as I imagine it will be hard for her to be able to source good mincemeat. Does anyone know if this will travel well in the hold of an aeroplane?
Hello, I have made a batch of Delia’s a few days ago. I left the Brandy out as my 3 year old loves mince pies and I wanted him to be able to eat them. Now I’m worried it will ferment. Could I add some to the mincemeat now? It is finished now and in jars. Should I re-heat it, or just tip into a bowl and mix some in? My second batch (with glace cherries) is in the oven as Ii type! Can I use any other alcohol, or does it have to be Brandy-I have some strange cherry liqueur and whisky in the cupboard! Any advice welcome please.
I always make the Delia recipe every other year – without alcohol, it has never fermented, keeps for 2 years and tastes fab!
Just about to make the next batch.
And I use butter rather than suet…
I have made mincemeat in the past, however, this year when I made it, even though it looks and feels moist, it has a dry texture when I taste it. I use venison, and the only difference than in past years, I used some venison hamburg. It has a great taste. Has anyone ever had this problem.
Hi
Just found your site, its fantastic. I am just about to make my delia mincemeat which I have been making for years and love, but due to oven problems would like to try cooking it in my slow cooker. Has any one tried this before? If so would the same timings on a low heat be adequate?
Many thanks
Hi Kay
I reckon that it would work in the slow cooker – on high until it bubbles and then on low. Re timings I have no idea but if you’ve made it in the oven before you’ll know what it should look like when done.
Thanks for the reply.
Tried it yesterday as you suggested, on high to start with then reduced to low heat. Left it for a total time of 3 hours and it seems to have worked beautifully. Six jars now stored away ready for mince pie making in December!
I am going to try making mincemeat this year for the first time, but live in Spain and I still do not know if you can buying cooking apples here. They all seem to be eating. Any ideas as to what I should be looking for.
Hi Pat
I live in France and have the same problem, so unless my husband can bring me Bramleys, I use granny smith or canada gris, which both seem to work OK. i am sure there is some equivalent in Spain.
Hi Kay and Pat
If you add fresh lemon juice. The juice of one large lemon to about 500g of apples you can add the acidity that’s needed and speed up setting time.
Do let me know how you get on!
Best
Fiona
Hi
I made mincemeat for the first time over two weeks ago while I was making christmas puds, the recipe was given to me without cooking insctructions so I presumed I had to store it until I was ready to make the mince pies. I did add the alcohol and stored it in a air tight jar in a cool,dry cupboard. Should I cook it now or throw it out and start again?
It should be fine. The recipe I use isn’t cooked. I prepare and mix the ingredients, leave for 2 days for flavours to improve and then put into sterile jars. It keeps for months.
I agree with suzik. The whole point of mincemeat is that it keeps
Traditionally it wasn’t cooked at all before it was put in jars. Delia’s method just helps to ensure the apples don’t ferment; the sugar and the alcohol preserve it, whether you cook it before putting in jars or not. Actually, the alcohol alone should stop the apples fermenting, but it may depend on how much you use.
Hello,
Last night I started brewing a batch of Christmas pudding vodka which has most of the ingredients needed to make mincemeat. When it’s time to filter the vodka (the week before Christmas) I thought it would be a shame to throw away the fruits/peel/spice byproduct. Do you think using vodka soaked fruit could work?
Yes it would – boozey mince pies – hic!
Hi Lucy. Any chance of a recipe gor that vodka?
Hi,
I am wanting to make the Delia mincemeat recipe but am a bit confused because it misses out a couple of instructions!
1. It says to add all the ingredients to soak overnight except the brandy but then never mentions the brandy again! When do I add it?
2. Do I add the suet when the fruit is soaking or just before cooking?
Hi Marie I have just made this recipe and followed the instructions, except that I mixed all the ingredients together and left overnight. Next day I reread the instructions and it said to put the brandy in after it has stood all night. So before I put it into the oven I added a bit more brandy. I have to say it tastes lovely. Hope this helps.
Delia’s recipe says:
“When the mincemeat is quite cold, stir well again, adding the brandy. Pack in jars that have been sterilised (see below)”.
So that’s what I did (added the brandy _after_cooking). If you add it before, I think it will evaporate and no longer act as a preservative (or not to the same extent).
Here’s the vodka recipe, it’s for a big batch, but if it turns out well I’m going to use it for Christmas presents. After a week it’s smelling and looking good, but the flavour isn’t very strong yet.
2 litre vodka
3 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
2 tbsp honey
2 tsp vanilla essence
400g raisins
100g almonds, roughly chopped
10 cloves
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp mixed spice
2 large oranges, peel and juice
2 large lemons, peel only
1. Combine all the ingredients in a suitably large bottle or containers. Ensure all containers are sterilised by running through a dishwasher cycle or washing thoroughly then warming in a low oven.
2. Shake or turn the containers once a week for about six weeks.
3. About two weeks before drinking, strain through a fine sieve and/or coffee filter paper/muslin.
It’s been interesting reading all the comments on here-I’ve been making my Mum’s recipe for years, have never cooked it and stored it in a plastic tub, it seems to keep fine! I thought you may be interested in trying a recipe I was given for a Strudel topping instead of a pastry lid for your mince pies. (Obviously this is for when you make your own pastry.) It’s yummy and makes a nice change!
Take out 140g of your pastry mix before you add the water. Mix in 55g of demerara sugar, 25g chopped nuts and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of the mince pies before baking.
I have made a few batches of homemade mincemeat and have used an uncooked recipe with apples and brandy. My last batch made, seems to be bubbling from th jar. Can I still use this? What could be causing this?
I made some mincemeat two weeks ago and it is now in the fridge waiting for me to find out how to preserve it (I made more than I had intended. In my search I came across this sight and hope you can help me out. My mincemeat is already made and cooled – which is perfect for Delia’s instructions to put cold mixture into sterilized jars, but my problem is that I used meat in my recipe and I don’t know if I can still store it the same way because of the meat. I put plenty of brandy in it and I put sugar in while it was cold (maple syrup, white sugar and agave) Thank you