It was in one store but was sold out way before Thanksgiving last year! I found a jar a few weeks ago and should go back and get more.
Before you say “ick” and “gross” know that most of the jarred mincemeat these days does not include meat and now they even give you the choice of brandy or no brandy. I say brandy, which infuses and sets the dried fruits and raisins that make this particularly British dessert.
Mom had two glasses to cut her pastry (I’ve given you the pastry recipe, for certain) and placed the bottom layer of pastry in a regularly sized muffin pan, filled it with her precise amount of mincemeat filling and added the top, or “hat,” according to my Aunt.
You’ll see my mincemeat woes as I now decorate my family’s pantries with jars of it, hopefully in the off-season so we’re ready to go over the holidays. Yes, I spent 2X the amount to FexEx it halfway across the country only to find out they had it already.
If you ask my husband’s family, it is an acquired taste, along with lebkuchen, that they have not yet acquired. Husband Jim can take more cayenne than I, yet I can take more nutmeg and cloves. I think that’s partly a Southern thing.
In the meantime, I’ll see if I can find some more mincemeat now so I don’t have to go crazy looking for it in November. I was just thinking of a trifle with mincemeat, applesauce, and nutmeg-spiced whipped cream. It sounds holiday-ish to me. Cheers! Dee
Cooking with Dee 