Sick of mince pies yet? Here are ten things you might not know about them:
- Mince pies are generally regarded as a British Christmas snack, but the recipe actually originated in the Middle East and was brought to Britain by soldiers returning from the Crusades.
- They used to contain actual minced meat mixed with fruit and spices. A savoury food rather than a sweet one as we know them today. Usually beef (especially tongue) or mutton but sometimes pork, veal or goose would be called for. The 1390 cookbook, A Forme of Cury, refers to mince pies as “tartes of flesh” and calls for pork, hard-boiled Eggs, Cheese, Saffron, and Sugar.
- They were also much bigger. While we know mince pies as a small snack you could polish off in a couple of bites, in the 17th century it was a different story. Gervase Markham's 1615 recipe uses a whole leg of mutton with suet, Pepper, Salt, Cloves, mace, currants, Raisins, prunes, dates and Orange peel. They were also rectangular, or in common parlance of the time, "coffin shaped." Also, the Pastry topping wasn't necessarily meant to be eaten, but rather as a lid to keep the filling fresh and moist.
- Over the years they've been called various names, such as mutton pie, shrid pie (because they contained shredded suet), Christmas pie, crib cakes and wayfarers’ pies, the latter because they tended to be served to visitors.
- In the Victorian era, mince pies began to transition from being savoury to being sweet. Mrs Beeton's Household Management book listed several mince pie recipes, but only one contained meat. Sugar was becoming more widely available at that time, too. Another common ingredient is a dash of booze, which people took advantage of in Prohibition-era Chicago, when the alcohol level of canned mince pie filling increased by 14%.
- It's often said that eating mince pies on Christmas Day is against the law. This is an urban myth. While it is true that Oliver Cromwell tried to abolish Christmas, and while he didn't entirely succeed, he did pass a law saying that markets should be open on December 25, there should be nothing different about any church services on that day, and feasting and ceremonies were curtailed. However, his laws made no specific mention of mince pies.
- In Stuart and Georgian times, mince pies were a status symbol. Rich people who could afford good pastry chefs would show off by having said chefs create mince pies in different shapes: stars, crescents, hearts, tears, flowers, and even plates of pies which fitted together like a jigsaw puzzle.
- Why are they associated with Christmas, though? There are several theories but no proof of any of them. They include that the spices used are a nod to the gifts of the three wise men, or the shape of the pie was supposed to be like the crib, with some chefs adding a pastry Baby Jesus on the top to reinforce the idea. Another possibility is that the mincemeat was made, along with the Christmas Pudding, on "Stir Up Sunday" just before Advent. They were certainly a Christmas food by Samuel Pepys's time. He mentioned them more than once in his diary. One year, his wife was too ill to make them, so he had some delivered; on another occasion he states that he went to the Christmas church service by himself because his wife was too tired, having been up until 4am making mince pies (or more accurately, supervising the servants who did most of the work!)
- There are a few superstitions associated with mince pies. When making the mincemeat, it should be stirred clockwise – stirring anti-clockwise would bring bad luck. Eating one mince pie per day for the 12 days of Christmas is supposed to bring good health and happiness, and you should make a wish on your first mince pie of the season. It's also a tradition for children in the UK to leave mince pies out for Father Christmas on December 24, along with some brandy and a Carrot for the Reindeer.
- The fastest time to eat three mince pies is 52.21 seconds and was achieved by Leah Shutkever in London on 25 September 2019. The biggest mince pie ever was made in Burton, Derbyshire in 1932. It measured 20 feet long and 5 feet across and weighed 2,260lbs (1,025kg). After being paraded through the streets it was sold in aid of a local cottage hospital.
NEW!!
The Power of Love
Willow believes in crystal healing, cosmic ordering and the significance of chance encounters. She believes there's a spiritual explanation for everything. Except she struggles to find a reason why she can turn herself into mist and create a wave of energy which can slam a would-be mugger into a wall. Or why the love of her life left her for a mysterious woman in sunglasses, who then disappeared without trace.
A chance encounter with Firebolt, leader of the Freedom League superhero team, in a Glastonbury coffee shop, does turn out to be significant. He offers her a new start and the chance to use her powers for good.
Servant is a Christian who has joined the Freedom League in order to use his teleporting power to serve God. He and Willow clash from the start, yet they are drawn inexorably to one another.
When Willow leaves the team abruptly for reasons unknown, Servant knows he must put her out of his mind and find a nice Christian girl to settle down with. He is about to propose to devout and straight-laced Ruth, when Willow returns and turns his entire world upside down.
No comments:
Post a Comment