The Queen's pastry chef has revealed her secret mince pie recipe (2024)

FAQs

Who once banned the eating of mince pies in England? ›

The tradition comes from the time of Oliver Cromwell in the 1650s, when mince pies were banned at Christmas, along with other tasty treats. Cromwell wanted to tackle gluttony in England.

The reason mincemeat is called meat is because that's exactly what it used to be: most often mutton, but also beef, rabbit, pork or game. Mince pies were first served in the early middle ages, and the pies were quite sizeable, filled with a mixture of finely minced meat, chopped up fruit and a preserving liquid.

However, the mince pie was originally a savoury pie – and not even round! In the Tudor period they were rectangular, shaped like a manger and often had a pastry baby Jesus on the lid. They were made from 13 ingredients to represent Jesus and his disciples and were all symbolic to the Christmas story.

According to tradition, you must always make a wish on the first mince pie you eat during the Christmas season.

Some speculation has it that mince pies were illegal to eat on the day of Christmas. However, the only Christmas Day where eating mince pies was illegal was 1644 due to December falling on a day of fasting. Eat all of the mince pies to your heart's desires!

It was reported that in Oliver Cromwell's England, all festive celebrations, (including consuming mince pies and Christmas puddings), were contributing towards gluttony. The festivities were made illegal as part of a fasting period, but luckily the ban was lifted when Charles II took to the throne in 1660.

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.

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!

The mince pie was originally filled with meat but it's believed that it wasn't until the late Victorian period and the early 20th century that mince pies shifted to a pie made from fruit fillings. Is it still illegal to eat mince pies on Christmas day?

Counterintuitive as it may seem, microwaving a mince pie for between ten and 15 seconds, and then letting it stand for two minutes or so, does the job well and conveniently. The microwaves heat the mincemeat very quickly, but the pastry case is hardly affected.

Can you eat mince pies cold? ›

Many people enjoy mincemeat pie served warm, but it can also be served cold. The recipe below features both mini pies or you can make two nine-inch pies. You can pair mincemeat pie with ice cream, custard, or low-fat Greek yogurt for a sweet treat that's sure to impress!

This is one of those 'facts' that everyone knows – dour old Puritan Oliver Cromwell hated merriment and fun and laughing and dancing and so banned mince pies when he was Lord Protector because nothing is more guaranteed to bring pleasure and enrage a killjoy than a little pagan sweet pie dusted with icing sugar…

In the Victorian era, mince pies became associated with luxury and indulgence. The filling was often made with expensive ingredients such as brandy, candied peel, and exotic spices. Mince pies became a symbol of wealth and were served as a decadent treat during Christmas festivities.

Today, the mince pie, usually made without meat (but often including suet or other animal fat), remains a popular seasonal treat enjoyed by many across the United Kingdom and Ireland.

One superstition from the middle ages suggests that if you eat a mince pie every day from Christmas day to Twelfth Night (evening of the 5th January) you will be guaranteed happiness for the next 12 months mmmm!