You can’t really have an English Christmas without dried fruit and booze.  Certainly not a Dickensian epic – mince pies, smoking bishop (that’s alcoholic), good will to all ….

And you need to get going now.

If ‘mincemeat’ is a concept outside of your cultural Christmas norm, I should explain modern versions contain no meat.  They did used to – and the further back you go the more ‘meaty’ they are.

Home-made mincemeat is such a simple thing to make.  Even if the idea of a pantry full of preserves comes under the heading of ‘life’s too short ..’, you might want to make an exception for this.

This is my ‘master’ recipe.  Mincemeat is such a ‘forgiving’ thing to make you can let your imagination fly.  Within the framework of dried fruit, apple, booze and some kind of fat you have endless possibilities.

I grew up in a house with an almond tree in the front garden and I know ‘cracking’ them is a horrendous task.  So, I don’t do that – but I’m not going to pay extra to buy them blanched. Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the almonds.  1 min.  No more, you don’t want to soften the nut.

Drain and rinse with cold water.  You can see the ‘skin’ has wrinkled.

Dry with a clean tea-towel.  You can be as vigorous as you like ..!

It’s an easy job to slip the almond from the skin.

You will never again pay a premium for blanched almonds.

Love it or hate it – ‘mixed peel’.  I love it, but I buy whole mixed peel and chop it myself.

It’s a completely different product to those nasty little supermarket tubs of ‘mixed peel’.

You can vary the dried fruit to suit your mood.  I’m using the ‘standard’ – currants, raisins and sultanas.  There’s no reason why you shouldn’t use figs, prunes, cherries …

Traditionally, the fat is beef suet.  You can, of course, grate your own – or you can buy a packet.  That’s what I do – 200g – I don’t like silly little bits left in a packet so use it all.  There are vegetarian alternatives.  Or you can use butter – freeze and grate.  Butter tastes wonderful, but it’s not a ‘looker’ when it cools.  If you’re the one going to cook with it – when it will return to unctuous loveliness – then it’s a good choice, but not if you’re going to give it as a gift.

The grated zest of one orange.

And the zest of one lemon.  Then add the juice of both.  Why would you waste it?

I chop my almonds by hand as I like the nutty chunks in my mincemeat.

Peel, core and chop the apple.  I like chunks, but you can grate it.

Then, it’s the spices.  Cinnamon.  Mixed spice.  Nutmeg.

Add the sugars.  Then the alcohol.  I’m adding whisky.  Brandy, Rum, Disaronno, Cointreau are all lovely alternatives.  Mix.  Clean hands are better than a spoon ..!  Let it all steep in a bowl, covered with cling-film for 24 hours.

Then pot in warm preserving jars and leave to mature for 2-6 weeks.  After that, it’ll keep for about 3 months.  (Longer and the apple may start to ferment.)

After 2-6 weeks you are ready to bake ..

Yum.

Boozy Christmas Mincemeat – Makes 3 500g Le Parfait jars.

• 250g/2 cups currants
• 250g/2 cups raisins
• 250g/2 cups sultanas
• 200g-250g/ 2 cups Bramley apples, peeled, cored and shopped into small pieces
• 200g/2 cups suet
• 150g/1 heaped cup blanched almonds, roughly chopped
• 175g/1 cup demerara sugar
• 50g/third cup dark muscovado sugar
• ½ rounded teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 rounded teaspoon ground mixed spice
• A grinding of nutmeg
• 1 lemon, rind and juice
• 1 orange, rind and juice
• 125g/1 cup mixed peel, chopped into dice
• 250ml whisky

Mix together the dried fruit, chopped apple, suet, chopped almonds,, mixed peel,  cinnamon, nutmeg and mixed spice.  Grate the zest of a lemon and orange into the bowl, then squeeze and add the juice. (A warmed fruit gives more juice.)

Add the whisky and give everything a good mix.  Clean hands are easiest.  Cover and leave for 24 hours, giving it all an occasional stir.

Pot the mincemeat up into sterilised jars.  Leave to mature for 2-6 weeks and use within 3 months – or freeze.

Bake.

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