On Thanksgiving Day while talking with my father-in-law, he mentioned that they had served Persimmon Pie at the retirement community where he and my lovely mother-in-law live. Then he said "but it looked the same as mincemeat pie." Steve asked me what the difference in the two pies would be. Of course this sent me food sleuthing. I honestly didn't know what mincemeat pie was. I've heard it mentioned and have even seen jars of mincemeat on some grocery shelves, but the thought of eating a pie titled "mincemeat" had never really interested me. I can't remember ever going anywhere in the south that served mincemeat pie, but my father-in-law, who grew up in the north, had it as a staple at the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
This holiday pie that has been known over the years by many different names (Mince Pie, Minced Meat Pie, Mutton Pie, Shed Pie and Christmas Pie) has made many changes throughout its history and today's pie is a stripped down version of the original pies.
Mincemeat was originally a combination of minced meat (usually mutton or mature sheep), fruits, animal fat, vinegar, sugar and spices. This combination of spices and sugar was not just for taste, but was also used as a way of preserving meat in the days before refrigeration. Other meats such as beef, goose and beef tongue were common in different areas around the world.
Mince pies are steeped in Christmas tradition. Tradition has it that the filling should include cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg in acknowledgement of the spices brought by the Magi to the Christ child. At one time the pie was to contain 13 ingredients, one for Christ and 12 for his disciples. The pies were baked in an oblong shape to represent the cradle of Christ and sometimes a pastry baby Jesus was baked on top of the pie. Ironically, all this symbolism was almost the doom of the Christmas Pie.
During the days of Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans, Christmas was banned as a pagan holiday in rebellion to the Church of England's rule. Soldiers were ordered to travel around and take by force, if necessary, any foods being cooked for a Christmas celebration. The Christmas Pie was one of those foods. All pies were also considered a guilty pleasure by the Quakers. According to an essay in the 1773 Gentlemen's Quarterly, the Quakers objected to the pie "as an Invention of the Scarlet Whore of Babylon, an Hodge-Podge of Superstition, Popery, the Devil and all his Works." Pretty strong words for a pie, wouldn't you say?
Through the years, the pie has morphed from a long cradle-like shape to the traditional round pie shape and most often is served in individual pie forms. Today's traditional mincemeat pie consists of fruits, spice, brandy and suet. Suet is the fat from beef, more accurately the fat around the kidney, but it can also refer to the solid fat deposits around slices of meat. I spoke with the butcher at Food Lion in Pooler about purchasing suet. He said that they used to give it away, but company policy changed and they can't even sell it now. He suggested that I visit my friends at the Butcher Block in Bloomingdale. Today most recipes offer that in the place of suet, butter may be used.
Back to the original questions that sent me on this travel back in time. The Persimmon Pie my father-in-law had probably looked like the Mincemeat Pie of his youth because it was cooked using the same technique of soaking fruits and traditional spices in alcohol. There are no written rules what fruits are used - so persimmon could be one of the fruits used in a mincemeat pie. I imagine the food director was afraid to refer to it as Mincemeat Pie for fear that many (one being me) wouldn't dare try it.
In the world of quick and modern convenience you now can buy mincemeat or mince pie filling in jars. While many reviewers say it isn't as good as the filling you make yourself, not many cooks have two or three days to cook and soak fruits for a pie. If you are so inclined, there are many delicious recipes on the Web. I have put mincemeat on my "list of projects" for next year's holiday meals. In the meantime, I'll have to settle for store bought pie filling and a quick recipe ... time is, after all, running out!
When trying something new, I always search first on commercial product websites. They have test kitchens and don't post bad recipes. The following recipe is from adapted from the Pillsbury website.
Teri Bell is co-owner of Miss Sophie's Marketplace at the Mighty Eighth in Pooler. Go to sophiesmarketplace.com.
1 jar (20.5 ounces) ready-to-use mincemeat (2 cups)
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 apple, peeled, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup chopped dried figs
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup brandy
2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1 box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box
1. In medium bowl, stir together mincemeat, pecans, apple, figs, brown sugar, brandy and lemon peel. Cover; refrigerate at least 8 hours.
2. Let pie filling stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oven to 425 F. Make pie crusts as directed on box for Two-Crust Pie using 9-inch pie plate. Stir filling well; pour into crust-lined plate. Top with second crust and flute; cut slits in several places.
3. Bake on lowest oven rack 40 to 45 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 5 hours.