The History of Mince Pies - Historic UK (2024)

FAQs

What is the tradition of mince pies in the UK? ›

A custom from the middle ages says that if you eat a mince pie on every day from Christmas to Twelfth Night (evening of the 5th January) you will have happiness for the next 12 months!

By the 18th century it was more likely to be tongue or even tripe, and in the 19th century it was minced beef. It was not until the late Victorian period and early 20th Century that mince pies dropped the meat and had all fruit fillings (albeit with suet). Even today there are traditions associated with mince pies.

Mincemeat originally came about as a good way of preserving meat, without salting, curing, smoking or drying it. In 1413, King Henry V served a mincemeat pie at his coronation. Henry the VII was fond of the meaty Christmas pie as a main dish, filled with minced meat and fruit.

These were nothing like our mince pies of today. They were large, seriously large, and oblong as they were designed to serve a number of people. The pastry case, called a coffin, was just a container for the delicious filling and was never meant to be eaten – well not by the rich!

A mince pie (also mincemeat pie in North America, and fruit mince pie in Australia and New Zealand) is a sweet pie of English origin filled with mincemeat, being a mixture of fruit, spices and suet. The pies are traditionally served during the Christmas season in much of the English-speaking world.

Mince pies = eyes

This is a term used widely in London even to this day, usually to describe a girl's features. Her eyes would be described as Minces, an even more slang term from the original mince pies.

Mincemeat pie is a dish that isn't very common in the American kitchen, which can lead to some confusion for cooks, even those on the Allrecipes staff.

They became a popular treat around the festive period thanks to a tradition from the middle ages, which saw people eat a mince pie for 12 days from Christmas day to Twelfth Night. Doing this was believed to bring you happiness for the next 12 months.

A pie full of spices and meat appears in 1390 in A Forme of Cury, an English cookbook originally written on a scroll, under the name “tartes of flesh”. To make these morsels, cooks were instructed to grind up pork, hard-boiled eggs, and cheese, before mixing them with spices, saffron, and sugar.

Martin Fone investigates the most traditional seasonal food of all, mince pies, and finds that they really did contain meat at one time in the past. Just be grateful you never got served one made with fish...

What is the pagan origin of mince pies? ›

In any case, meat and fruit were invariably included among the ingredients. Going back even further, however, there are some who believe mincemeat pie is based on an ancient pagan tradition of serving coffin-shaped cakes representing Osiris—the Egyptian god who, according to legend, died and was resurrected each year.

The "mince" in mincemeat comes from the Middle English mincen, and the Old French mincier both traceable to the Vulgar Latin minutiare, meaning chop finely. The word mincemeat is an adaptation of an earlier term minced meat, meaning finely chopped meat. Meat was also a term for food in general, not only animal flesh.

That's the beauty of them! A good mince pie is a delicately spiced, sumptuously light fruit filling encased in a buttery, crumbly crust. They're like souffles in that they're incredibly easy to do badly, but when baked properly they are a gustatory delight!

Historically, mincemeat pie did contain meat, such as mutton, beef, or even game meats, alongside fruits and spices. However, modern versions focus on a delectable, sweet blend of dried fruits, spices, and sometimes rum or brandy.

“A mince pie is a sweet pie of British origin, filled with a mixture of dried fruits and spices called "mincemeat", that is traditionally served during the Christmas season in much of the English-speaking world (Wikipedia). “A meat pie is a pie with a filling of meat and often other savory ingredients.

We all love munching on mince pies but have you ever wondered why their filling is called 'mincemeat' even though there's no meat in it? This is because long ago mince pies actually did have meat in them. They went by different names like 'mutton pie,' 'shrid pie,' or 'Christmas pie.

Simmer apples, apple cider, candied cherries, brown sugar, apricots, dried cherries, cranberries, currants, figs, orange zest, orange juice, golden raisins, raisins, schmaltz, allspice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and ¾ cup rum in a medium pot over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost ...

Mincemeat pie is a dish that isn't very common in the American kitchen, which can lead to some confusion for cooks, even those on the Allrecipes staff.