Homestead, home grown mince pies!

[British Red]

I thought this might amuse some on here

This weeks video shows one of the uses of all the fruit that we dehydrate., home made ,home grown, mince pies!

 

[Tengu]

Whoa!

Are you trying to kill your guests with pleasure?

Its a very nice recipe. One question. Why do you cook it?

I never cook my mincemeat, though Delia Smiths recipe, I believe, does call for cooking.

Its going to be cooked when made into pies, after all.

(Just yesterday was making my batch)

 

[Robson Valley]

Tengu: Do you cook your fruit filling at any stage in preservation?

W. Gisslen: Professional Baking is the text of choice in the Cordon Bleu professional schools.
Gisslen claims that cooking the fruit fillings for eventual use in baked pastries helps to prevent boiling over.
I have never done enough fruit pie making to be confident of the result.
Most of the time, I control spills by reducing the quantity of filling.

 

[Tengu]

Mph.

I leave that to my Dad, the Making of mince pies.

I just make mincemeat. pastry is someone elses problem.

 

[Woody girl]

I'm a right grinch! don't like Xmas pudding or mince pies or turkey! Don't like the cold and wet or the hype around presents and being forced to watch tacky Xmas movies when I'm visiting friends as happened today.
I'm waiting for spring and the wild garlic to pop thru.
I'm spending the day in question with good friends who also don't have tv , having good conversation, nut roast and veg, followed by my orange cake and ice cream. Im looking for my Bah humbug hat!
But back to mince pies, are you aware they were originally made with minced meat?... hence mince pies. I may create some origional mince pies and serve them up . Should be a fine sight to see people's faces after the first bite!

 

[Nativewood]

I'm a right grinch! don't like Xmas pudding or mince pies or turkey! Don't like the cold and wet or the hype around presents and being forced to watch tacky Xmas movies when I'm visiting friends as happened today.
I'm waiting for spring and the wild garlic to pop thru.
I'm spending the day in question with good friends who also don't have tv , having good conversation, nut roast and veg, followed by my orange cake and ice cream. Im looking for my Bah humbug hat!
But back to mince pies, are you aware they were originally made with minced meat?... hence mince pies. I may create some origional mince pies and serve them up . Should be a fine sight to see people's faces after the first bite!

I'd eat those! Try anything (almost) at least once...

 

[Robson Valley]

Plan A. Make a pot of bechamel sauce and fold in many dozens of small oysters or mussels.
Then you bake some mini vol-au-vent tart shells of puff pastry. They are about bite size.
Load those with the oyster goop and reheat. Poppadum those things down your hatch.
The much larger versions of vol-au-vent puff pastries need to be served with a knife and a fork.,

Plan B. Using mince pork and seasonings and puff pastry, bake up a batch of real sausage rolls.
= = = =
Savory seasonal treats that sidestep the gigantic sugar loads of the usual holiday fare.

 

[Woody girl]

I've done a bit of research into origins of mince pies. It's quite interesting.
They were much larger than today made in an oval shape to represent the crib.
Filling was minced meat, usually mutton but any meat could be used, and dried fruits such as apricot and currants and raisins, plus suet. Spices such as cloves cinnamon and ginger were also added.
This recipe goes back to the 13th century.
They became smaller individual size pies with more fruit than meat in more modern times ie the 17th century. Often baked at and purchased from coaching inns to eat on the journey.
Fascinating to discover the history of the humble mince pie. Thanks British Red for inspiring me to search this out.

 

[Janne]

The British Mince Pies are unique.
Of course dried fruit have been used in cooking by everyone since prehistoric times, but that specific composition is quite unique.
A very Middle Eastern spicing!

I guess it used to be a luxury food for the affluent people, those spices were very expensive in the early days!

 

[Nativewood]

Now I'm hungry, you bad, bad people!

 

[Woody girl]

Now I'm hungry, you bad, bad people!

That's strange... normaly I'm so good.!

 

[Robson Valley]

I like the modern fruit mince pies and tarts provided that they aren't spiced up too heavily.

The big four: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves and (Black) peppercorns were the drivers for global exploration.
Marco Polo was a merchant. He (and his Dad) walked over to China from Europe to explore the foggy origins of the famous Silk Road.
From 1271 to their return in 1295, they looked around. They revealed the sources of those great spices.
Nautical engineering and navigation suddenly became National strategic resources.
A real driver of spice prices were the many robberies and pirates along the Spice Road.

 

[British Red]

I find that hot packing into sterilised jars ensures there is no risk of mould, no other reason.

Whoa!

Are you trying to kill your guests with pleasure?

Its a very nice recipe. One question. Why do you cook it?

I never cook my mincemeat, though Delia Smiths recipe, I believe, does call for cooking.

Its going to be cooked when made into pies, after all.

(Just yesterday was making my batch)

 

[British Red]

I'm a right grinch! don't like Xmas pudding or mince pies or turkey! Don't like the cold and wet or the hype around presents and being forced to watch tacky Xmas movies when I'm visiting friends as happened today.
I'm waiting for spring and the wild garlic to pop thru.
I'm spending the day in question with good friends who also don't have tv , having good conversation, nut roast and veg, followed by my orange cake and ice cream. Im looking for my Bah humbug hat!
But back to mince pies, are you aware they were originally made with minced meat?... hence mince pies. I may create some origional mince pies and serve them up . Should be a fine sight to see people's faces after the first bite!

Oh yes. Some still do, especially with venison. Its surprisingly nice.

We celebrate Jul, but its about sharing home made food & love, not spending money

 

[British Red]

Plan A. Make a pot of bechamel sauce and fold in many dozens of small oysters or mussels.
Then you bake some mini vol-au-vent tart shells of puff pastry. They are about bite size.
Load those with the oyster goop and reheat. Poppadum those things down your hatch.
The much larger versions of vol-au-vent puff pastries need to be served with a knife and a fork.,

Plan B. Using mince pork and seasonings and puff pastry, bake up a batch of real sausage rolls.
= = = =
Savory seasonal treats that sidestep the gigantic sugar loads of the usual holiday fare.

I like some rusk in sausage rolls otherwise all the fat drips out. A little rusk in minced pork keeps 8t all together

 

[British Red]

I like the modern fruit mince pies and tarts provided that they aren't spiced up too heavily.

The big four: Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves and (Black) peppercorns were the drivers for global exploration.
Marco Polo was a merchant. He (and his Dad) walked over to China from Europe to explore the foggy origins of the famous Silk Road.
From 1271 to their return in 1295, they looked around. They revealed the sources of those great spices.
Nautical engineering and navigation suddenly became National strategic resources.
A real driver of spice prices were the many robberies and pirates along the Spice Road.

For a very long time the price of black pepper was fixed at an equal weight in gold!

 

[Janne]

Read a book by Giles Milton called Nathaniel's Nutmeg.

Very interesting!

The funny part is how they in the old days saw these exotic spices as medication, a 'cure-all' medication!

 

[Woody girl]

I've just made cranberry and orange jam to go with Xmas dinner. I thought rather than throwing the orange rinds away I'd candy them. Surprisingly easy with a sugar and water solution take out all the middle bits untill you just have the pith and peel, boil the sliced rinds till soft in the water. When soft add the sugar and simmer untill you get a realy thick syrup. Steep in the syrup overnight. Add a bit more water and sugar simmer for a while again untill the syrup is almost gone. WATCH CAREFULLY DON'T LET IT CATCH AND BURN. Then I take the rinds out of the syrup and leave to dry out a bit. These can be used in mincemeat and cakes or as decoration. . I like to dip them in melted plain hot chocolate and eat as sweet treats. Best bit... no waste!

 

[Robson Valley]

Cranberry/Orange is a taste combo from heaven. I would have left the zest peel in the jam.
I learned how to make lime marmalade. So good, I never shared so much as a teaspoonful.
Fine slice the limes. Soak, cook, add measured sugar, cook, jar and seal. Sets up as good as gelatin.
Yeah, fine slices of whole limes, that's it.
The slices got thicker and thicker as I went from the first dozen limes to the next ones.

Woodygirl: suppose I melted a tin of cranberry sauce ( lots of fruit pulp & berries) in a small pot.
Added 2 tbsp frozen Orange Juice concentrate and the zest of 2-3 big oranges. OK?

Besides Nathaniel's Nutmeg, everybody in BCUK should read Kurlanski: A World History of Salt.
Much more interconnected British history than I had imagined. A bit like reading a dictionary =
you can pick it up and put it down any time.

 

[Woody girl]

Cranberry/Orange is a taste combo from heaven.

Woodygirl: suppose I melted a tin of cranberry sauce ( lots of fruit pulp & berries) in a small pot.
Added 2 tbsp frozen Orange Juice concentrate and the zest of 2-3 big oranges. OK?

Don't see why not. Give it a try. Mind you to be honest I'd use fresh cranberries and oranges as they are in season. You could make several jars then.