Homemade mincemeat
Homemade mincemeat is so easy to make and will make your mince pies even more delicious this Christmas!
Homemade mincemeat is such a treat. It tastes so much better than shop bought mincemeat and is really easy to make. It’s definitely worth taking the time rustle up a batch with your kids this festive season.
We always make some mince pies at some point over the festive season but have often used jars of shop bought mincemeat. Now, having made our own mincemeat there’ll be no going back. Homemade mincemeat is even more delicious – you can add whatever dried fruit you like or have lurking in the back of your cupboard.
This recipe uses apple juice rather than the traditional brandy so is also non-alcoholic which makes it perfect for kids to enjoy.
What is mincemeat?
Mincemeat is the traditional filling in mince pies. It usually contains dried and candied fruit, some festive spices and some butter or suet, all soaked in brandy or another spirit or juice.
It’s called mincemeat because it did in the past contain meat, but it hasn’t (with the exception of the suet if you use it) for a few Centuries.
Mincemeat is a classic Christmas ingredient, (check out some of our favourite mincemeat based festive recipes below), but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy it all year round.
How can kids help to make homemade mincemeat?
This is such a simple recipe making the perfect thing to make with your kids during the festive season.
Your kids can help to measure out all the dried fruit and other ingredients before adding them to your sauce pan.
They can also help to zest and juice the orange and if they’re old enough to help prepare the apple.
What sort of dried mixed fruit should I use?
You can use any dried mixed fruit you like in this recipe. It’s nice to have a bit of variety so it’s best if you don’t use only one type of dried fruit. Try around 250 – 300g g each of currents, raisins and sultanas. Or to make it even easier you could just buy a packet of mixed fruit.
Can I use alcohol rather than apple juice?
Absolutely. A lot of mincemeats use brandy or even run but when I’m serving it to kids I prefer to make it without alcohol so have used apple juice instead. If you want to use brandy, just swap it like for like with the apple juice, or for if you want less of a kick you can use half brandy, half apple juice.
Is this suitable for vegetarians?
Yes. We’ve used butter rather than the traditional suet so this can be enjoyed by vegetarians and vegans.
How do you store homemade mincemeat?
The mincemeat will keep in a jar in a cool dry place for a few months. In fact it’s often nicer when it’s made in advance and left to mature. See the instructions below on how to sterilise your jars so it keeps well.
How do you sterilise jars?
You need to sterilise your jars if you plan to keep the mincemeat for any length of time. To di this, preheat your oven to 160C / 320C. Then, start by washing the jars in hot soapy water. Don’t dry them, but you can rinse the soap suds off with hot water.
Put the wet jars into the oven, with their lids, for around 15 minutes.
Remove the jars one at a time from the oven and ladle the mincemeat into them, before putting the lid on. This isn’t a job for kids to help with as the jars will be hot.
What can I use homemade mincemeat in?
Once you’ve made your batch of mincemeat you’ll be spoiled for choice what to use it in. The obvious place to start is some delicious and e, but after that why not check out one of our delicious mincemeat based recipes below:
Mincemeat loaf cake
Puff pastry mince pies
Mincemeat palmiers
Mincemeat muffins
Mince pie cookies
Mincemeat flapjacks
Mincemeat pinwheels
Useful equipment
You might need the following baking tools/gadgets to make this mincemeat:
Digital scales
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Spatula
Jars
Pot
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Ingredients
800g dried mixed fruit (a mixture of sultanas, raisins, currents etc)
125g mixed peel
200g brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon mixed spice
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
1 large / 2 small cooking apples
Juice and peel of an orange
125g butter
200ml apple juice
How to make homemade mincemeat
Measure out all the dried ingredients
Start by getting your kids to measure out all the dried fruit into a bowl. This is a great job for even young children as you don’t need to worry about being too accurate – as long as you end up with around 800g of dried fruit.
Measure out the mixed peel and brown sugar then add the fruit and sugar to a large sauce pan.
Get your kids to measure out the spices. Make sure they use their finger to level each measuring spoon so that you add just the right amount.
Prepare the fruit
Peel and core the apple, then get your kids to help cut it into small pieces. If your children are very young this might be a job that you do while they’re measuring out the dried fruit as you need the chunks to be quite small and it uses a sharp knife.
Zest the orange, then get your kids to help juice it. If you roll the oranges around on your worktop before you cut them in half you should be able to get more juice out of it.
Add the orange zest, juice and apple pieces to your sauce pan.
Add the butter and apple juice
Finally, measure out the butter and grate it into your sauce pan. You could cut it into small pieces, but it’s grating is much easier and quicker.
Finally, get your kids to measure out the apple juice. The easiest way of doing this is using the ml setting of digital scales, but if you don’t have any a measuring cup will do the job.
Heat the mincemeat ingredients
Heat everything together for 10 minutes or so stirring it so the butter and sugar melt and the juice soaks into the fruit.
Leave everything to soak over night
Pop it all into a bowl, and leave it to cool.
Cover it and leave it overnight somewhere cool so all the juice can soak into the fruit.
Jar the homemade mincemeat
If you plan to keep the mincemeat for any length of time you’ll need to sterilise your jars before you bottle it. If you’re just going to bake something with it straight away you don’t need to sterilise the jars – just add the mincemeat straight in.
To sterilise jars, preheat your oven to 160C / 320F, then start by washing them in hot soapy water. Don’t dry them, but you can rinse the soap suds off.
Put the wet jars into the oven, with their lids, for around 15 minutes.
Remove the jars one at a time from the oven and ladle the mincemeat into them, before putting the lid on. This isn’t a job for kids to help with as the jars will be hot.
Homemade mincemeat
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Start by measuring out all the dried fruit into a large bowl.Measure out the mixed peel and brown sugar then add the fruit and sugar to a large sauce pan.
- Measure out the spices. Make sure you use your finger to level each measuring spoon so that you add just the right amount.
- Peel and core the apple, then cut it into small pieces. Zest the orange, then juice it. Add the orange zest, juice and apple pieces to your sauce pan.
- Measure out the butter and grate it into your sauce pan.
- Finally, measure out the apple juice. The easiest way of doing this is using the ml setting of digital scales, but if you don't have any a measuring cup will do the job.
- Heat everything together for 10 minutes or so stirring it so the butter and sugar melt and the juice soaks into the fruit.
- Pop it all into a bowl, and leave it to cool. Cover it and leave it overnight somewhere cool so all the juice can soak into the fruit.
- If you plan to keep the mincemeat for any length of time you'll need to sterilise your jars before you bottle it. If you're just going to bake something with it straight away you don't need to sterilise the jars – just add the mincemeat straight in.
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