book.sorell - Flipbook - Page 21
DECEMBER 2023 - 21
Fruit mince a perfect gift
Slightly cooked fruit mince
Ingredients
REAL FOOD
with KIRSTEN BACON
FIND it surprising that many people say they don’t like
fruit mince tarts.
I really believe it is because many people make a very
sweet and over-powering sickly sweet fruit mince.
Remember your dried fruit is already sweet so it
doesn’t need to be over-sweetened, using the lemon and
orange zest really gives a nice zing and I sometimes
even put a good heaped spoon of marmalade in as well.
The longer you leave it also the better it tastes Fruit
mince is one of those extremely traditional 昀椀llings used
for a Christmas fruit mince pie. These days there are all
sorts of fruit tarts made at Christmas time but there is
only ever one real one. Apparently in the 13th century
returning crusaders brought with them Middle Eastern
recipes that contained meats, fruits, and spices.
However, the pies themselves are a British invention.
I grew up with a traditional English suet fruit mince
and I still think it is wonderful.
Fruit mince is best made well in advance and allowed
to mature so the 昀氀avors are superbly imparted.
Note: Christmas fruit mince is not, as the name
suggests, meat though once it was. Look through the
Christmas fruit mince recipe you will see it is sugar,
fruits both fresh and dried, Brandy and suet blended.
175g raisins
110g currants (dried)
110g mixed peel (昀椀nely chopped)
175g suet (shredded, or butter)
225g brown sugar (dark)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated)
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1 lemon (grated zest and juiced)
1 orange (grated zest and juiced)
1 apple (granny smiths are my favourite, cored and
昀椀nely chopped, no need to peel)
4 tablespoons brandy
4 tsp Pedro Ximenes or sherry works well
Method
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the
brandy. Stir well making sure they are all evenly distributed.
Cover with a clean tea towel and leave overnight for the
昀氀avours to melt together.
Next day, heat the oven to 110 c.
Remove the tea towel and cover the bowl with foil and
place in the warmed oven for 2 1/2 hours. At the end of this
time, the suet will have melted but don’t worry, this is how it
should be. The fat is what will help to preserve the fruit mince
as well as giving lots of 昀氀avours. Stir the fruit mince mixture
well and leave to one side to cool, stirring from time to time.
The stirring is essential as it helps to distribute the fruits evenly
as the mixture cools. Once cooled stir the fruit mince again,
add the brandy and Pedro and stir one more time.
This fruit mince can be decanted into sterilised jars and
can be used to make mince pies throughout the season.
Fruit mince also makes a great Christmas present. The
fruit mince will keep up to one year in a cool, dark
place.
Since starting to share her recipes with our readers cooking legend and food educator Kirsten Bacon has created a YouTube channel, Cooking with Kirsten Bacon, that gets viewers and
recipes from around the world. www.youtube.com/channel/UCs7TNBH6Wi1NjOcY4E929Wg/featured or see www.facebook.com/thekingboroughcook/
E
FRE !
y
r
t
n
E C
PI
2E
Day
s
FAMILY
FUN
WEEKEND
6-7
January
DOMAIN TENNIS CENTRE
HOT SHOTS TENNIS
POP TENNIS FACE PAINTING
PRIZES & GIVEAWAYS!
PLUS sensational on-court action
from some of the world’s best
tennis players
Visit hobartinternational.com.au