Christmas goodies

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A CENTURY earlier Hannah Glasse in The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy advised "how to make Mince Pies the best Way." Her recipe was similar to Mrs Beeton's but omitted the meat in the early preparation stages. It included "half a hundred of fine Pippins" and, in addition to half a pint of brandy, also had a similar amount of Sack - these days we would substitute a sherry for Sack. Mrs Glasse recommended putting the mincemeat "down close in a stonepot and it will keep good four months."

When it came to making her mince pies "the best way" she recommended taking a little dish, "something bigger than a soup plate" and lining it "with a thin crust all over it.

"Lay a thin layer of meat, and then a thin layer of citron cut very thin, then a layer of mincemeat, and a thin layer of orange peel cut thin, over than a little meat, squeeze half the juice of a Seville orange or lemon and pour in three spoonfuls of red wine; lay on your crust and bake it nicely.

"These pies," enthused Mrs Glasse "eat finely cold."

For the meat component, she suggested taking a parboiled neat's tongue (ox tongue), peeling it and chopping the meat as finely as possible, or two pounds of the inside of a sirloin of beef.

Fast forward to the present day. The meat has vanished completely. Even the suet has been discarded by many cooks. The food processor has made short work of the chopping and mincing. Here is mincemeat 2002 style.

Christmas Mince

130g sultanas
100g raisins
100g currants
1 apple peeled, cored and roughly chopped
8 dried apricots, chopped
the zest of one orange
1 teaspoon each ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, mixed spice and ground cardamom
3 tablespoons brandy

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until chopped into a chunky consistency.

Store in an airtight jar until required.

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