Now that Thanksgiving is officially on its way out, I guess we can all start focussing our efforts on Christmas. Although, if your English you may have been doing that for some time. In fact, you may have started your pre-christmas baking last week with the appearance of Stir-up Sunday.
Originally an informal term in Anglican churches for the last Sunday before the season of Advent, Stir-up Sunday has now come to represent the day in which bakers prepare their preserves, puddings and cakes ready for Christmas. Most of them contain a large amount of booze, so they keep well, and are mixed with even larger amounts of fruit. The combined flavours of both are able to mature and grow richer in flavour over the days leading up to the 25th.
Another part of the tradition is the “stirring” part. This is something the whole family is meant to do together, with each member getting a turn to stir the ingredients while making a wish.
Until I started making the traditional pudding, cake and mincemeat that make up the sweet staples of an English Christmas, I really believed they were too complicated to make myself. How wrong I was and I can’t recommend enough trying at least one. The difference between homemade and store-bought is beyond anything you can say in words!
On this year’s Stir-up Sunday my two younger daughters and I put our hands to mincemeat and were able to make up a number of jars by making up the recipe below. This mincemeat needs to be eaten this Christmas (no problem there!) and if you want one that will last longer, try this recipe by Delia Smith.
As you can see from the pictures, we went to town with the decorating of our jars. I think I had more fun doing it then the girls. We used stickers, stencils, sticky labels, yarn, ribbon, gingham squares and all kinds of Xmas clip art stored on the computer. It was cheap and so easy to do and the jars of homemade mincemeat will make great pressies for the kid’s teachers.
Enjoy!
Homemade Mincemeat
(adapted from Tamasin’s Kitchen Bible, Tamasin Day-Lewis)
approx 340g/12oz each of sultanas, raisins and currants
170g/60z finely chopped almonds
3 large apples, grated
400g/14oz dark brown sugar
200g/7oz mixed peel, finely chopped
grated zest and juice 2 lemons
grated zest and juice 1 orange
1 heaped teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 heaped teaspoon cloves and cinnamon
1/8 heaped teaspoon ginger
170g/60z vegetable (or beef) suet
4 tablespoons dark rum
120ml/4fl oz cognac or brandy
Put all ingredients into a large bowl. Mix really well with a wooden spoon.
Decant into sterilised jars and keep in a cool dark place.
Turn the jars upside down every once in a while so that the juices permeate throughout the mixture regularly.
I love the labels…will have to remember to come back here round Christmas present-making time of the year!
I love the way you decorated the jars – so cute!
Super yum Heather, and just what I need to make. I love that it stands in jars and gets mature. Have to find a substitute for suet and I shall be on my way. Made lemon curd tarts 2 days ago, and was thinking my next batch should be mini mince pies!
Deeba, you can use vegetarian suet instead. It works just as well.
Those little jars look wonderful and I love your Emma Bridgewater candlesticks! I haven’t made my own mincemeat for a couple of years but I have the Delia Christmas book and may have a go this year.
This was on every holiday dessert table when I was growing up and I couldn’t bring myself to eat it. I still to this day have never had it, though every adult in my British family loves it. Must have been the word “meat”, AND the fact that a popular dinner that my dad fed me when I was a child was ground beef cooked in a skillet with chopped onions and served with mashed potatoes – and yep, he called in minced meat! LOL Looking at the ingredients in your list, I bet I would love it! Maybe i’ll make my own and finally try it!
Amanda – apparently mincemeat did originally contain meat although sometime back in the middle ages. What you are describing above sounds like a variation on cottage pie which is another great English winter staple but definitely savoury. I love mincemeat and there are so many different ways of making it with as many different fruits. I think you might surprise yourself if you gave it go!
I’m sold – Nanny used to make this all the time but I have never done so. Now that I see there is RUM in it, I HAVE to make this too! ha ha. Love it, thank you!
Yeah the rum is definitely very good in it & of course it helps if you leave it to “ferment” for a few weeks to really get the full flavour.
This looks great! I have only had mincemeat once and I remember thinking it was quite tasty.
Hope you enjoy it if you try making it!
I love those jars, they look great. Quick question: How long before you can use it. I have a party on the 12th, that I’m making mince pies for. Is it too late to do my own this week?
You can use it straight away if you like. I made mine on Monday and we used it for homemade mince pies on the weekend. They were great!
My mom always made mincemeat pies when I was young but I haven’t even seen one in a very long time. I remember I wouldnt touch them but as Katrina said, your ingredient list does look very good. Maybe it’s time I grew up and rethink the whole mincemeat thing!
Yes Megan you must. I know you won’t be disappointed. The entire population of the British Isles can’t be wrong now can they?!
My mother used to make her own mincemeat, and I recall some very delicious pies coming out of her efforts. But I haven’t made a single thing with, or even thought of, mincemeat for decades. What’s wrong with me? Thanks so much for this lovely recipe and your reminder of this traditional treat!
Your welcome! Hope you try it and enjoy.
Hi Heather. One question – how many jars did you get out of those quantities? I’m still looking for recipes to use up my millions of apples and was thinking of mincemeat. This one seems to use lots of apples but it rather depends on if that’s just because it makes lots of mincemeat – if you see what I mean?!
Harriet – the recipe made 4 jars. If you look at the first picture it was jars (l-r) 3, 4, 5 & 6. So I guess it does make quite a bit of mincemeat! Hope that helps.
My favorite – mincemeat! Whenever I small that aroma, I always think of our times together in England enjoying a cuppa and some mincemeat pies. Happy days with my lovely daughter. ENJOY YOURS WITH GRACE AND EVE. xoxo
Tell Grace and Eve to save some for me.
Nice posting Heather. Like in Stroud, here in Warsaw Thanksgiving passed with barely a whisper. Only a query or two from friends wondering how I was going to manage without Turkey Day marked the occasion. Two years ago I forced these same friends to gulp down piles of turkey mid-week and they haven’t forgiven me. But your recipe and recollection puts me in a cooking mood so I’ll try to lure some Poles over for a “better late than never” Stir-Up Sunday soon. Thanks.
I am not the world’s biggest mincemeat fan, but I feel that I maybe should make some mince pies this year just to show I can. Homemade might be the way to impressed this family of bakers I married into.
I can recomend Delia’s receipe as it is the one that I use and it does keep, not that it does at our house, due to Mini loving mince pies all year round. I love the lables