TASTE
Mincemeat makes great kid project, gift
| • | Discover the joys of mincemeat |
By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor
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The work in making mincemeat is all in the chopping, grating and measuring of ingredients. So little culinary skill is required that putting a batch together would make a great parent-and-child Saturday project.
The child could peel apples, measure dried fruit, sugar and spices, pour everything into the pot and — if tall enough — even handle the stirring.
Then you could bottle up the preserve and give it to mincemeat-loving relatives; let the kids make the bottle labels. Mincemeat can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks, or canned in a hot water bath for 10 minutes and kept at room temperature indefinitely.
For tips on how to make a modern mincemeat, we turned to "Baking Illustrated" (America's Test Kitchen, hardback, $35), a huge tome from the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine that covers just about every baking project you might conceive. What we found is an apple conserve highly flavored with citrus, enriched with butter and cooked in cider or apple juice.
A 1920 recipe from The Advertiser's files is remarkably similar, except that dehydrated apples are used, reconstituted in water overnight with raisins and currants, then cooked with sugar, vinegar, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and a pinch of salt until thick and jammy. This thrifty mixture uses no fat, so we tried a fatless version of the modern recipe and found it quite nice, although the texture is not as velvety and you've got to watch for scorching or sticking.
This recipe makes enough to generously fill a 9-inch pie.
MODERN MINCEMEAT PIE
For the filling:
For the pie:
Place all filling ingredients except 1/2 cup of the cider and the rum or brandy in a large, heavy saucepan (nonstick is good), set over medium-low heat. Bring to a boil and simmer gently, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until the mixture thickens and darkens in color, about 3 hours. Add more cider as necessary to prevent sticking. Continue cooking until the mixture has a jamlike consistency, about 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup apple cider or juice and the rum and cook until liquid is thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes. Cool.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Roll out dough into two (12-inch) circles. Arrange one in a 9-inch pie pan; fill with mincemeat. Cut second circle into strips and weave a lattice crust over the top of the mincemeat. Brush egg white on the lattice and sprinkle evenly with sugar.
Place pie on cookie sheet to catch drips and place in 400-degree oven. Bake 25 minutes, until crust is light golden brown. Rotate the pie and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Cover crust rim with heavy-duty foil wrap to prevent over-browning. Bake another 30-35 minutes, until crust is deep golden brown and juices are bubbling.
Cool and rack. Serve at room temperature.
Serves 8.
This quick bread is a favorite of Barbara Tavares, a mincemeat lover who lives up Makiki Heights way. She cut it out of Women's Day magazine. Especially if you use prepared mincemeat, it goes together quickly.
"If I don't tell people what it is, they eat it up," Tavares said, referring to the fact that many people are turned off by the idea of mincemeat.
You could pare fat by using a less-fat margarine (less than 8 grams fat per serving) and using the lower-fat version of homemade mincemeat above; the use of whole-wheat flour adds fiber.
MINCEMEAT-NUT BREAD
Mix well flours, baking powder, salt and baking soda; set aside. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar until blended. Add orange peel, then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
Stir in flour mixture, mincemeat and nuts. Turn into greased and floured 8-by-4-by-2-inch loaf pan. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 1 hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. The crust will be very brown. Cool on rack 5 minutes; remove from pan to rack and cool completely.
Makes 16 slices, 1 serving each.
Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.
