Traditional British Boozy Mincemeat - Fat Free

"An adaptation from an old family "Traditional Mincemeat" recipe which was passed down through my Mum's side of the family. This one however is FAT FREE - NO suet or butter and it still KEEPS for up to a year or two; I currently have a jar from 3 years ago which has aged and matured beautifully! I have called it traditional mincemeat as it has all the traditional ingredients apart from the fat and it is VERY EASY to make. I am posting this in early September so it can be made now and allowed to mature ready for Christmas MINCE PIES. Where I have stated rum or brandy, please use any strong liquor that you may have available; it's just that brandy or rum work very nicely with the ingredients. Make some pretty labels, add a paper or fabric lid cover with a ribbon and then hang a pie, scone or cookie cutter from the neck - and voila, a thoughtful home-made gift! N.B. It's the alcohol that keeps this mincemeat, so if you want a non-alcoholic version, I have a traditional suet mincemeat recipe posted, which does not need much if any alcohol - Recipe #257241."
 
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photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
photo by French Tart photo by French Tart
Ready In:
1hr 20mins
Ingredients:
16
Yields:
6-8 Jars
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ingredients

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directions

  • Put the cider and sugar into a large saucepan & heat GENTLY until the sugar has completely dissolved.
  • Stir in the rest of the ingredients, except the brandy or rum and slowly bring to the boil - stirring ALL the time!
  • (Please note it is not necessary to peel the apples - just core and chop them up finely.).
  • Lower the heat and partially cover the saucepan and simmer gently for 30 to 45 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat and leave it to become completely cold.
  • Stir in the brandy or rum and then spoon into cold, sterilised jars, making sure that the mincemeat is packed down firmly with NO space or air bubbles.
  • Cover with waxed discs and TIGHT fitting lids.
  • N.B. Kilner jars can be used too - make sure that the rubber seals are new & not perished!
  • GIFT IDEAS:

  • Design and hand write some labels - or use a Christmas template!
  • Make some paper or pretty material lid caps/covers. Secure with an elastic band & add a ribbon or raffia.
  • Hang a gift label and a scone, cookie or pie cutter from the ribbon - the same size as your mince pie tin shapes and you have a great home-made gift for someone!
  • I sometimes add a recipe card too, mince pies OR a mincemeat cake & mincemeat oat slices - look out for them as they are also posted on RecipeZaar too!

Questions & Replies

  1. Hi, I just wanted to check, the apple cider, is it non-alcoholic or alcoholic? (I'm in the UK and cider is alcoholic (hard or draft) cider, but I think in the US "cider" is unfiltered apple juice) Just checking which I should use! Thanks!
     
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Reviews

  1. Wonderful recipe; love the flavors. The recipe is large, so if you are not a canner, the extra can be kept up to a year in the freezer as well.
     
  2. Perfect! No suet, just the way we like it!
     
  3. I made this yesterday, I know a bit late for this Xmas, but still sooo much better than most jar varieties. I made exactly as stated, but was a bit short on the amount of dried fruit required. So added some dried cranberries and dried figlets to the food pro. and added them. The recipe is so forgiving, I think you could add anything you like, and it will always turn out wonderfully. I used Brandy. The spice level is perfect. Great recipe.
     
  4. Delicious! Made it and will never buy mincemeat again! Gave some away as gifts too, happy friends and family. Thank you.
     
  5. This is really a top-shelf mincemeat recipe, & I'll definitely be making this as gifts in the future!! I couldn't find the candied cherries or citrus peel in grocery shelves, so used dried cherries instead of the candied ones, then made my own candied orange peel! Have now found a recipe for making candied cherries & might try that another time! And, I used a combo of brandy & rum on half the batchy, many thanks for an OUTSTANDING recipe!!
     
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Tweaks

  1. This is really a top-shelf mincemeat recipe, & I'll definitely be making this as gifts in the future!! I couldn't find the candied cherries or citrus peel in grocery shelves, so used dried cherries instead of the candied ones, then made my own candied orange peel! Have now found a recipe for making candied cherries & might try that another time! And, I used a combo of brandy & rum on half the batchy, many thanks for an OUTSTANDING recipe!!
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p><strong><span>The sunflowers in the field behind my house in SW France:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Sunflowers src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/DSCN8221.jpg alt=Sunflowers width=640 height=480 /><br /><strong><span><br /><br />I am British (English-Scottish), but I was born in South Africa and have lived all over the world, including Hong Kong, Germany, Cyprus, USA &amp; Singapore. I have also been very fortunate to have travelled extensively over the years.........I still have wanderlust! <br /><br />I used to be an English Literature &amp; Art History teacher &amp; lecturer; before that, I trained and worked as a Graphic Designer for many years. I now live in France with my husband &amp; my daughter who has just started university in September 2006. We also have one very chatty Burmese cat Willow, who allows us to live with her here! (I used to have three cats, I recently lost Monty, a beautiful seal point Siamese and before that, Rama, who was a debonair blue point Siamese cat - I would love to have another Siamese cat or cats in the future!)</span></strong></p> <p><em><strong><span>This is my Burmese Cat, Willow, sunning herself on the log pile in the kitchen garden:</span></strong></em></p> <p><strong><img title=My src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/ABaconButtyandSundryFoodPhotos34.jpg alt=My width=640 height=480 /></strong></p> <p><strong><span>Here is my lovely Monty, a seal point Siamese, and Willow, sitting&nbsp;in the kitchen garden last year, and a few months before Monty died; he was 18yrs old:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Monty src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/AbsolutelySinfulStickyToffeePudding.jpg alt=Monty width=640 height=480 />My</p> <p><strong><span>This is my wonderful old boy, Rama, a blue-point Siamese, who died when he was 20yrs old - excuse the old and much sellotaped photo:</span></strong></p> <p><img title=Rama src=http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r271/copperhorse58/Rama1stOctober2004164.jpg alt=Rama width=517 height=639 /></p> <p><strong><span>My favourite pastimes are: reading, writing, painting &amp; drawing, photography, gardening, anything creative, walking, travelling, dining out and of course COOKING! I love all types of cuisine, but especially Traditional British - and NO it is NOT all bad!! I particularly love food associated with the changing seasons plus traditional feasts &amp; festivals, as well as Slow Cooking. I also enjoy French &amp; North African cuisine, come to think of it, there isn't much I don't like! <br /><br />My husband &amp; I run a Chambres D'Hotes, (Bed and Breakfast) called Auberge de la Fontaine here in beautiful South West France; we specialise in Gourmet Food &amp; Wine Breaks, French Antiques &amp; Restoration courses, French Language courses and French Cookery classes. Our home is completely furnished with Antique French furniture that we have rescued &amp; restored ourselves. Our charming village has one of the oldest Churches in the region &amp; it is famous for its connection with the St.Jacques de Compostella Pilgrimage route, as well as being within the Cognac &amp; Bordeaux wine growing area. <br /><br />We have a wonderful garden where we grow ALL of our own herbs and most of our fruit and vegetables. I specialise in rare, unusual and old-fashioned herbs, which I grow in our walled garden. As well as growing herbs, I also grow many different varieties of lavender, old-fashioned shrub roses and heirloom fruit and vegetables. <br /><br />We have lived overseas for many, many years now - but we both still love going home to Northern England, near Scarborough &amp; York, to visit our family &amp; friends. We also love indulging in dining out when we are there, in a wide variety of EXCELLENT Gastro-Pubs that we have in North Yorkshire; and popping in to have a Pint of REAL ENGLISH ALE in our local pub is a always a must!! <br /></span></strong></p> <p><br /><a href=http://photobucket.com/images/merci%20beaucoup target=_blank><img src=http://i420.photobucket.com/albums/pp287/vi-vie15/Merci/hb09izl7.gif border=0 alt=merci /></a> <br /><br /><strong><span>A Message to all who make and review my recipes! I try very hard to reply to EACH and EVERYONE of you who kindly makes, reviews and photographs my recipes! However, sometimes I am so busy in the B and B, and with other things, that I may be late in sending a personal thank you message, and sometimes I forget completely! I would just like to thank you ALL in advance, and just in case I am late or forgetful in sending a personal thanks. I am always very humbled by anyone who chooses to make one of my recipes, and I love reading the reviews and seeing the beautiful photos that are posted. Merci beaucoup encore! <br /><br />A note about my recipes. All of my posted recipes, whether they be my own concoctions or adaptations from a book or a famous chef, have been tried and tested at least once, by ME! I try to make sure that I am the guinea pig and not you! However, if there is anything you would like ask me about one of my recipes, or a query that I may be able to help you with, please do write and I will try to answer your question as soon as possible. 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