Preparation Time

I know it's a bit early to be talking about Christmas but some things, like cake, pudding and mincemeat, taste better when left to mature for a while. Back when I was a teenager my friend S and I made our Christmas money by selling mince pies to our nieghbours. When I think back on it, it was a highly organised affair. The mince pie enterprise started in late November when we canvassed the nieghbourhood for orders. Then it was time to made the mincemeat. leaving it to mature for a few weeks. Typically we made about 1000 mince pies over a single weekend in M's kitchen, then delivered them in nicely packaged boxes a few days before Christmas.

I have always used this recipe from Delia, the real key is the quality of your ingrediants. Buy whole candied citrus peel and chop it yourself - the taste doesn't even begin to compare with the bitter stuff you get in the supermarket. I bought all my stuff in The Gourmet Shop, just beacause I can walk there from work. Interestingly I bought some ground almonds also @ €17.50 /kg .I priced them the next day in my local Tesco where the cheapest ones (and they were on 'special') were €21.50/kg!! It always pays to shop around.