| Mincemeat |
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HISTORY AND VARIANTS Fifteenth century English recipes describe a similar mixture of meat and fruit. The recipe may have developed as a way of both extending the life and palatibility of meats but also to mask the off flavors of meat that had begun decomposition. Vinegars, wines, and distilled spirits contributed a dual effect of preserving and disinfecting. The inclusion of strong spices like clove, nutmeg, mace and cinnamon began as much as a way of masking the off flavors, but the inclusion of sugars from fruits and molasses, and as a consequence of alcohol produced in the mincemeat help direct its use toward desserts. In the mid to late eighteenth century micemeat in Europe had become associated with old fashioned, rural, or homely foods. Victorian England rehabilitated the preparation as a traditional British holiday recipe, serving it on fine china. By the mid-twentieth century the term was also used to describe a similar mixture that does not include meat but that might include animal fat in the form of suet or butter, but could also substitute solid vegetable fats, making it vegetarian. Many recipes continue to include Venison , minced beef Sirloin , or sometimes Ground Beef to the mix. Most contemporary recipes continue to include meat or suet along with a mix of Raisins , spices, chopped Apple , fresh citrus peel, and animal Suet , Currant s, candied fruits, citron, and Brandy , Rum , or other Liquor . Mincemeat is aged to deepen flavors, activate the preserving effect of alcohol, which over times changes the overall texture of the mixture by breaking down the meat proteins. Preserved mincemeat may be stored for up to ten years. Mincemeat can be produced at home, often using a family recipe that varies by region or ancestry. Commercial preparations, primarily without meat, packaged in jars, foil lined boxes, or tins are commonly available. Mincemeat is frequently consumed during the Christmas holiday season when Mince Pies or Mincemeat Tarts are served. In the northeast United States mincemeat pies are also a traditional part of the Thanksgiving holiday sometimes served with a piece of cheddar cheese. ETYMOLOGY The "mince" in mincemeat comes from the Middle English ''mincen,'' and the Old French ''mincier'' both traceable to the Vulgar Latin ''minutiare'' and Latin ''minutia'' meaning smallness. The word mincemeat is an adaptation of an earlier term ''minced meat,'' meaning finely chopped meat. Mincemeat is also an idiom meaning to destroy completely, as in "she made ''mincemeat'' of her opponent's argument during the debate." SEE ALSO Forcemeat REFERENCES
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