Quizzes & Puzzles2 mins ago
mince pies
6 Answers
How did mince pies originate?
Answers
Best Answer
No best answer has yet been selected by Aquarius. Once a best answer has been selected, it will be shown here.
For more on marking an answer as the "Best Answer", please visit our FAQ.There's a big difference between Scottish mince pies and English ones...the Scottish ones, available year-round, actually contain mince! The English 'mince' pie, so common at Christmas-time, contains fruit, suet, spices, sugar, brandy etc but no longer any meat. It seems that Oliver Cromwell - amongst his other miserable Protestant edicts - tried to abolish Xmas mincemeat, presumably because it was a source of pleasure. Nevertheless, the famous cook, Mrs Beeton's recipe for Xmas mincemeat actually did contain meat.
Regarding the origins, the very first reference to sweet mincemeat comes in a cookery book published in 1762.
i understood that originally mince pies were a delicacy of the upper classes at festive times--containing minced pheasant or swan or other minced meet not available or too expensive for ordinary punters--so fruit suet and other cheaper ingrediants were used as a substitute so ordinary folk could have their treat at xmas time too