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Through The Past
Mincemeat pie, first known as mince pie, is no longer a must for Christmas dinner. A festive British sweet pastry, mincemeat pie is a rather heavy mixture of minced fruit and meat, hence the name. Mince pies first known as "shred" pies, have been highly valued for more than 500 years in England at Christmas time. America and European countries began the tradition as the custom spread. Spices, once as valuable as gold, made this pie very special. Folklore has grown concerning mince pies. In Britain, they were left on a plate at the foot of the chimney as a thank-you for stockings well-filled. The making of the pie was a ritual in that the mince meat mixture should only be stirred in a clockwise direction. It was bad luck for the coming year to stir it counterclockwise. Furthermore, the pie should be eaten in silence. Tradition said that one should make a wish "whilst eating one's first mince pie of the festive season." In the beginning these pies were actually small open-face tarts. In America, as recorded in the "Old Farmer's Almanac, Colonial Cookbook" of 1765, chopped apple, beef, spices, raisins, citron, orange rind, lemon rind, molasses, sugar, cider, and salt were used to make mincemeat. True to ancient traditions in medieval times, some kind of alcohol, usually brandy or rum, was added. We might mention here that spices were used to cover the taste of "less than fresh" meats, that were such a luxury, due to live animals being more valuable. With no means of refrigeration, fresh meat was enjoyed for only a short period of time. Alcohol , used for obvious reasons, was also used as a preservative. Up to Victorian times, the mince pie would have been a spiced meat pie with some dried fruit. Verification can be found in comparing the amounts listed in the 1765 almanac cookbook recipe for mincemeat which called for four cups of chopped beef and about as many cups of apple and sugar with lesser amounts of all the other ingredients. Today's version of mincemeat certainly sounds more appetizing than the "chewette" pastry which was the forerunner of medieval mincemeat. The "chewette" actually had liver or chopped meat mixed with boiled eggs and ginger. Dried fruits and sweet ingredients would be added for variety. In the 1600's, Oliver Cromwell of England made the eating of mince pies on Christmas Day illegal. Considering Cromwell and his colorful history, I am not surprised. Probably, the original mince tarts were leftover pastry, minced bits of meat left from the meal, and just by adding the spice, cider, etc., one could have a tasty, sweet pie or tart. Have I made the dessert sound foreign and too English? That was not my intention. I know that the pie is still eaten in certain parts of America, especially in New England. Fifty years ago, it was more common here. The Christmas tradition, not the pie, has been kind of lost. That is my point. Actually, as a child, I got to know about mincemeat pie because of my daddy. He loved it. I remember us having it, not often, but a few times. Daddy probably found the store-bought kind and brought home a jar for Mother to make the crust. By the way, Wal-Mart has Borden's Mincemeat in glass jars and the ingredients are about the same as traditional mincemeat. Priced at nearly six dollars, it is a far cry from left-over pastry and meat from the medieval table in both cost and taste, I'm sure and yes, it does contain chopped beef. If you are brave, try reading the ingredients of mincemeat to someone in today's world under the age of 50 and brace yourself! Or if you dare- buy a jar and make a pie- then it may be necessary to give it to your granddaddy or great-granddaddy, if you still have him, which in that case-- bless you! Merry Christmas to all!
Joyce White Burrage is a retired CCHS teacher living in her native Chilton community.
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