Christmas fruit mince
Print recipeIngredients
- 1 large lemon (avoid using ones with thick skins )
- 3 crisp apples (eg Granny Smith or pink lady )
- 75g dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup finely granulated raw sugar
- 375g currants
- 75g dried mixed peel
- 1 tablespoon mixed spice
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (preferably true cinnamon, not cassia)
- 1/4 cup brandy or rum (optional)
Note
This fruit mince is great for traditional mince pies. You can use either homemade or bought shortcrust pastry, but make sure you roll it fairly thinly. Alternatively, fold some of the mince through a good quality 'creamy' ice-cream for a lovely summertime dessert. Makes approximately 3 cups / 750ml fruit mince.
Directions
| Squeeze the juice from the lemon and pour it into a bowl. Reserve the 'shell', and discard the seeds. | |
| In a small saucepan, boil the lemon shell in enough water to cover it, for approximately 20 minutes, or until it is soft enough to mash to a pulp. Drain and allow to cool a little. If the lemon was thick-skinned, trim away some of the excess inner pith and discard. Mash or finely chop the shell. | |
| Peel the apple (discard the skin and core), then finely dice or coarsely grate the flesh. Chop the dried cranberries. Combine the apple and cranberry in a large bowl with the lemon juice, lemon pulp, sugar, currants, mixed peel, spices and brandy. | |
| Stir the mixture until all ingredients are well combined. Pack the fruit mince into sterile airtight jars and refrigerate. Leave for two weeks (or up to 12 months) to allow the flavours to meld. | |
| Cooks tip: If you are wondering why suet was used in the original 'receipts', it's because it gives a silky smoothness to the mince. You can add a little melted butter to the fruit mince before you fill your pies for extra richness if you like. This is not necessary if you are folding the mince through ice-cream. | |