Mincemeat

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Mincemeat was originally a conglomeration of bits of meat, dried fruit and spices, created as an alternative to smoking or drying for preservation, a variant form of sausage. It should not be confused with minced meat. Mincemeat containing actual meat has become less common over the years; however, many cultures still add minced beef sirloin, or (less commonly) ground beef to the mix. The customary form today typically consists of raisins, spices, grated apple, and animal suet, though many commercial varieties use hard vegetable fat instead, making it completely vegetarian. Mincemeat may also contain currants, candied fruits, citron, and brandy, rum or other liquor.

This mixture can be made at home, but is also available either canned or bottled. The most common use is in the Christmas mince pie or mincemeat tart, but there are many kinds of pastry containing mincemeat.

The first mincemeat factory was in Port Byron, New York, using a recipe patented by Dr. Julius Allen. His patent was voided in 1895.

While mincemeat may no longer contain meat in most countries, it is prepared with meat in Pennsylvania, US, particularly in the York and Lancaster Counties (in and around Amish country). Residents prefer to prepare their own mincemeat using family recipes, instead of purchasing canned or bottled mincemeat.

[edit] Etymology

The mince in mincemeat traces its roots back to the Latin minutia ("something small"). The word mincemeat is an adaptation of an earlier term minced meat, simply meaning that, "meat chopped into small pieces". As an ingredient or substance, however, mincemeat has almost always been one word.

The term mincemeat has become a common image, even perhaps a cliché. To make mincemeat out of one's adversary is to impose defeat in an especially complete and humiliating manner.

[edit] Recipe

The following mincemeat recipe was published by the Ohio Grange in 1972:

1 peck apples, chopped
6 pounds beef
1 pound suet, ground
3 pounds seeded raisins
2 pounds currants
1 pound citron
2 pounds brown sugar
1 quart maple syrup
1 quart boiled apple cider
1 quart spiced syrup from peaches or pears
1 tablespoon salt
1 quart water
1 teaspoon of each: cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, ginger