This has been made by me every year, and has never disappointed either myself or anyone who eats my mince pies etc. I listened to the Very Best of Nina Simone whilst making this – they are to me a match made in heaven (although obviously they do not bear any resemblance to each other). Why buy sweet readymade mincemeat that always boils out of the mince pies when this is so quick and easy to make.
DELIA SMITH’S CHRISTMAS
ISBN 0563370645 –PAGE 41
Makes: 6 lb (2.75 KG)
Skill Level: Easy
Taste Test: Not at all sweet and sticky, and has all the elements that make a great mincemeat.
Use good quality dried fruit – I find Waitrose own make to be the best as the fruit is fresh and plump. Peel is a difficult one, I have used the whole mixed candied peel as Delia suggests in the past, but I wasn’t particularly fond of this, maybe this is because I am not very keen on peel. Anyway, I have now found Tesco Italian chopped peel to be the best and I only use a very small amount and make the rest of the recipe up with dried fruit. Also, I don’t like chomping on nuts in my mincemeat and so I also leave these out. The mincemeat doesn’t suffer for this. Delia says it is ok to use vegetarian suet, I have tried this and find it does not affect the end result. Please do not use the lighter suet – this makes the texture of the mincemeat gluey. The mincemeat is put in the oven for a few hours to melt the suet, which in turn coats everything, and because of this you will find the mincemeat stores very well.
Equipment Used: Microplane Grater.
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