Homemade Mincemeat Recipe • Curious Cuisiniere (2024)

What is mincemeat? We’re here to break down the confusion behind this boozy fruit concoction and share a recipe to make your own homemade mincemeat.

What do you think of when you hear the word ‘mincemeat’?

Does it conjure images of an old-school British pie?

But, what’s inside that pie?

If you’re from the States, that pie is probably filled with lots of confusion.

So, let’s back up.

Traditionally, what is Mincemeat?

Mincemeat developed as a way of preserving meat. Traditional mincemeat from the 15^th -17^th centuries contained a mixture of meat and fruits with vinegar or wine that was used as a preservative.

In the 18^th century, liquor such as brandy or rum began to be used instead of thevinegar or wine.

And, over time itevolved to contain suet (beef or mutton fat) instead of meat.

What is mincemeat today?

Today, mincemeat is almost better known as “fruitmince” since it typically only contains dried fruits such as raisins, currants, cherries, apricots or candied citrus peel, along with cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves (or allspice).

This mixture is then aged withbrandy or rum, todeepen the flavors and activate the preserving effect of alcohol, which, over time will break down the proteins and change the texture of the mixture.

Since we make our mincemeat only a month or two before we’ll be using it, the texture doesn’t have time to change all that much.

But, the liquor does have time to really get into all the ingredients. Making itquite tasty.

How to make Mincemeat

Making mincemeat is so incredibly simple.

• chop
• simmer
• add alcohol
• age

Your fruit (dried and fresh) is all chopped to roughly the same size, to make sure the alcohol can evenly penetrate the pieces.

The fruit is then simmered to break down the fresh fruit and soften the whole mixture.

Then the alcohol is added. (We do it after simmering, so that we don’t cook off the alcohol.)

Finally, your mincemeat just needs to be aged for a month or two, to let the flavors really come together so that it can be used in your favorite holiday treat!

Homemade Mincemeat without alcohol

If you’d like to give mincemeat a try, but are looking for it to be a bit more kid-friendly, you have a couple of options.

If you want the liquor flavor, without the alcohol, you can add the liquor while the mixture is simmering and cook off the alcohol.

Or, since we’re just using the liquor as a flavoring and not a preservative, you could simply use apple cider in place of the liquor.

Stir for good luck!

Do be careful to only stir your mincemeat mixture clockwise while cooking, becausetradition has it, that stirring counterclockwise is bad luck for the coming year.

If you’d like to make Mince Piewith your mincemeat, be sure to check out our recipe HERE.

For a fun twist to your holiday cookie platter, try our Mincemeat Cookies. And, if you’re looking for a unique breakfast idea, try making Mincemeat Muffins!

As a side note: We make this mincemeat nearly every year, the lighting is what makes some of the pictures look darker than others. Enjoy!