INGREDIENTS
- 2 Apples (peeled, cored, cut into bite sized pieces)
- 115 g Sultanas
- 115 g Raisins
- 115 g Currants
- 60 g Dried Cranberries
- 60 g Glace Cherries (Candied Cherries) (quartered)
- 115 g Mixed Peel (Candied Mixed Peel)
- 115 g Suet (vegetable or beef)
- 200 g Soft Dark Brown Sugar
- 2 tsp Mixed Spice (Pumpkin Spice)
- 1/2 tsp Ground Nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 2 Oranges (zested & juiced)
- 2 Lemons (zested & juiced)
- Brandy or Sweet Sherry (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add all your ingredients into a large bowl and stir to combine and coat.
- Leave the mixture to soak and marinade for a few days (2-4 days is ideal), stirring once a day to ensure everything is coated and soaked.
- Spoon the mincemeat, using a slotted spoon, into sterilised jars. Fill the jars nearly full, but leave a little space at the top. You should get about 4 jars of mincemeat from this recipe. You may have some excess liquid - you can just discard this. Add the lids to the jars leave sealed until ready to use.
- The flavour of homemade mincemeat will continue to develop overtime, but can be used straightaway, after the initial few days of soaking. Otherwise, store the mincemeat in a cool, dark place, within the sealed jars, until ready to use.
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IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won't always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
RECIPE NOTES:
Sterilise Jars:
As this is a no-cook recipe, clean, sterilised jars are essential. A quick wash of the jars and lids, and a bake in the oven at 140°c (120°c for fan-assisted ovens, Gas Mark 1, or 275°F) keeps everything sterile for long-term storage.Storage:
Homemade mincemeat keeps brilliantly, as long as you sterilise your jars - it also continues to develop in flavour. In sterilised jars, Christmas mincemeat will keep for up to a year in a sealed jar, stored in a cool dark place. Of course, always exercise caution and check your mincemeat before using.Substitutions:
- Suet: Vegetable suet is most common now, but beef suet works too if you want to give a nod to the "meat" in easy mincemeat.
- Alcohol: Some luxury shop-bought mincemeat will contain alcohol (usually brandy) but your average jar of mincemeat won't. It's entirely up to you if you wish to add alcohol to your homemade Christmas mincemeat. I don't because it's not to my taste but this recipe is entirely versatile and you can add as much or little alcohol as you'd like.
- Fruit: You can use any mix of raisins, sultanas, currants, cranberries, or mixed peel... Just keep the overall weight the same.
- Sugar: Light or dark brown sugar both work, but dark gives a richer flavour.
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