Christmas mincemeat

[mothhawk]

After vowing I wouldn't make any mince pies this festive season, I've just made 3lb of mincemeat from my favourite recipe. Well, it was chucking it down with rain and I always seem to want to bake when the weather is miserable. Not that you cook mincemeat when you make it, but you know what I mean.

I've been busy making tin can lanterns like these to put along my paths at Christmad, too

[muddled]

Oh I LOVE those!
How effective!

What did you use to make the holes?
I am definitely making me some...and (if I can blag some tin cans off my neighbours) practically free to boot!

[Bal]

They look fantastic. How did you make the holes without squashing y
The cans

[craftymarie]

Wonderful festive tin cans I too would love to know how the holes are made.

[Small pumpkin]

Wonderful festive tin cans I too would love to know how the holes are made.

What craftymarie said ( and everybody else). I would also like your mincemeat recipe . I've never made it but I've always wanted to give it a go.

[Lisasbolt]

What craftymarie said ( and everybody else). I would also like your mincemeat recipe . I've never made it but I've always wanted to give it a go.

Another grapes wanting recipes and how you made the holes please they look great

[Jay22]

Me toooooo!!

[mothhawk]

Ah well, there's a little secret to making the holes...

First, fill the tin with water.

Then freeze it solid.

Then you need to nestle the tin in a scrunched up old towel, or a bucket of sand (I use a bowlful of decorative grit that I use on the tops of my tubs) to steady it while you knock in the holes.

Then all you need is a hammer and a nail. Different size nails for different size holes, but I just use a 4" round nail. Or you could use a bradawl, which, thinking about it, would probably be a bit easier on the fingers

The frozen ice inside the tin stops it from denting.

It's not easy to draw a pattern on the tin, so unless I'm just doing rows around the tin, following the tin's own "rings", I print off a star pattern and sticky tape it on the tin.

Tape won't stick to the icy tin itself, so wrap the tape all the way round and back onto itself, then a couple of strips from side to side over the top and the same over the bottom, that will stop the paper revolving round as you work it.

When you're done, melt out the ice, add a bit of sand at the bottom for ballast and add a tea light. You may need to tap the bottom of the tin flat, as the ice sometimes bows it out.

If you want to hang them, make two holes opposite each other near the top of the tin. Best to do that first before starting on the pattern, as the ice near the top is the first to chip and melt out. Use wire to make a handle, as there's a small chance string might catch fire.

[noviceveggrower]

Something so simple and look really nice .

[sparrow100]

Hmmm, guess we're having lots of beans/tomato-based food for the next few weeks...

[mothhawk]

What craftymarie said ( and everybody else). I would also like your mincemeat recipe . I've never made it but I've always wanted to give it a go.

Mincemeat is the easiest thing in the world to make, pumpkin.

The recipe I've just made is not particularly traditional, as it's not very spicy, just delicately flavoured,and uses carrot instead of apple, so it might not be for you, but there are loads of recipes out there on t'interweb, for instance, Delia's is good too.

But here's mine :

4oz raisins
12oz sultanas
4oz dried apricots
8oz grated carrot
4oz flaked almonds
4oz soft brown sugar
6oz shredded suet or vegetarian suet

seeds of 6 cardamom pods, crushed
half a teaspoon grated nutmeg
one and a half teaspoons ground cinnamon

finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon, 1 lime, and half an orange
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier liqueur
5 fl oz (142ml) medium sherry - as I'm teetotal I use extra orange juice instead, but that does affect its keeping quality.

Roughly chop the raisins, sultanas and apricots, (you can do it finer or coarser, depending on how you like the texture to be), I pulse them in the food processor for a few seconds.

Then put all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

Cover with cling film or a poly bag and leave to stand, overnight is good, but for at least an hour, then bottle into sterile jars and cover.

As there is a relatively small amount of sugar in this recipe it's best to store it in the fridge. I use it within 2 weeks, make mince pies and freeze them.

Delia's will keep for ages, as she heats it in the oven before jarring, but most recipes don't do that, they just have lots of sugar and alcohol, which preserves them.

[Small pumpkin]

Thanks mothhark
Great recipe. I've never made it because I thought you had to make it months in advance, and I never think about it till late November ( or someone brings up the subject on a forum ). I will try it thanks.
Thanks for the info on the Tin tealight holders. I guessed hammer and nail for the holes, but freezing water in them to keep the shape is brilliant!

[Bal]

I have made delias mincemeat recipes for years it's really good. I'm not teetotal so the booze goes in I don't measure it just splash it in.

[mothhawk]

The beauty of mincemeat is you don't have to be too precious about it. If you like mixed peel, you can substitute some for some of the other fruit, or leave out the nuts and add glace cherries. As long as the overall weight of the fruit/nuts stays the same, you can pretty much change what you like till you get a flavour you think is perfect.

The same with the spices, add more, or less according to your taste. Add individual spices as I do, or use mixed spice. Ginger is warming, cinnamon adds sweetness, as do cloves. You can experiment, that's part of the fun. Try adding brandy instead of sherry. The combinations are endless, and I always write down what I've used, so if it's a success, I can make it again