[Sca-cooks] Mincemeat

[Johnna Holloway]

*There’s a connection with mincemeat and the pies of the 16^th  century 
that contained minced meats.
You might start with Ivan Day’s page: 
http://www.historicfood.com/Pie%20recipe2.htm
*

He has a number of recipes posted.
**

*See below: *

*The Good Housewife's Jewell **(*England, 1596)
Chef Phains - Free Cookbooks 
<http://www.harvestfields.ca/CookBooks/index.htm>

To make bake meates. Take a legge of Lambe, and cut out all the fleshe, 
and save the skynne whole, then mince it fine and white with it, then 
put in grated bread, and some egges white and all, and some Dates and 
Currantes, then season it with some Pepper, Cynamon Ginger, and some 
Nutmegges and Carrawaies, and a little creame, and temper it altogether, 
then put it into the legge of the Lambe againe, and let it bake a little 
before you put it into your Pye, then put in a little of the Pudding 
about it, and when it is almost baked, then put in verjuce, suger and 
sweet butter, and so serve it.

An other bake meate. Take two pounde of White and a little veale, and 
mince it together, then take a little peniriall, saverie and margerum, 
and unset Leekes, and chop them fine, and put in some egges and some 
creame, then stirre it all well together, and season it with pepper, 
nutmegs and salt, then put it into the pye, and cut the lid, and let it 
bake till it be dry, then serve it.

*A NEVV BOOKE of Cookerie *(England, 1615)
Thomas Gloning's website <http://www.uni-giessen.de/gloning/tx/1615murr.htm>

A fierced Pudding. MJnce a Legge of Mutton, with sweet Hearbes: searce 
grated Bread through a Collinder, mince Dates, Currens, Razins of the 
Sunne being stoned, a little Oringado, cut finely, or a preserued 
Lemmon, a little Coriander seeds, Nutmeg, Ginger, and Pepper: mingle all 
together with Milke, and Egges, raw wrought together like Paste: wrap 
the meate in a caull of Mutton, or of Ueale, and so you may eyther boyle 
or bake them. Jf you bake them, beat the yolke of an Egge with 
Rosewater, Sugar, and Sinamon. And when it is almost bakte draw it out, 
and sticke it with Sinamon and Rosemary.

See also: 
http://theoldfoodie.blogspot.com/2005/12/goodly-litter-of-cupboard.html

http://theoldfoodie.blogspot.com/2006/12/vintage-christmas-recipes.html 
has the *1588: Minst Pyes, with rosewater.**
*
/From: The good hous-wiues treasurie Beeing a verye necessarie booke 
instructing to the dressing of meates; Anon. 1588/

*To make minst Pyes.*
Take your Veale and perboyle it a little, or mutton, then set it a 
cooling; and when it is colde, take three pound of suit [suet] to a leg 
of mutton, or fower [four] pound to a fillet of Veale, and then mince 
them small by themselves, or together whether you will, then take to 
season them halfe an once [ounce] of Nutmegs, half an once of cloves and 
Mace, halfe an once of Sinamon, a little Pepper, as much Salt as you 
think will season them, either to the mutton or to the Veale, take viii 
[8] yolkes of Egges when they be hard, half a pinte of rosewater full 
measure, halfe an pund of Suger, then straine the Yolkes with the 
rosewayer and the Suger and mingle it with your meate, if ye have any 
Orenges or Lemmans you must take two of them, and take the pilles 
[peels] very thin and mince them very smalle, and put them in a pound of 
currans, six dates, half a pound of prunes laye Currans and Dates upon 
the top of your meate, you must taek tow or three Pomewaters or Wardens 
and mince with your meate, you maye make them woorsse [?] if you will, 
if you will make good crust put in three or foure yolkes of egges a 
litle Rosewater, and a good deale of suger.

Ivan Day has a latter recipe posted at:

http://www.historicfood.com/Harewood%20Christmas.htm

And of course Wikipedia’s entry is wrong as it was common in Illinois 
farm families to include meat in the mincemeat well into the later half 
of the 20^th century. This may have to do with butchering in the fall 
and having scraps of meat on hand that were cooked and added as the 
mincemeat was being made and canned. And my family recipes for 
fruitcakes even included mincemeat in the fruitcake, so the fruitcakes 
also included real meat.

Johnnae llyn Lewis
Nick Sasso wrote:
> I have just looked at the mincemeat entry on our old pal "Wikipedia.org"
> ansd nearly passed out at the entry for history of mincemeat.
>