History of the mince pie
By Peter Abraham
Christmas, food is the best food. I think that goes beyond my humble opinion and is in fact, FACT! It’s full of stodgy, warm, sugary, cosy goodness that’s incredibly bad for your body but tremendously good for your soul. My favourite Yuletide morsel has to be the humble mince pie. I never used to like them I’ll be honest. I did find them a bit too rich. But now I can’t get enough of them. (I blame the butcher in Marshfield). But where did it all begin for this sweet and savoury snack? During Stuart and Georgian times, in the UK mince pies where a status symbol. Rich aristocrats gorged on the delights and liked to show off their wealth by having an assortment of differently shaped pies to impress their noble friends. Having different pies meant that you where mdisgustingly rich and you could afford the best pastry cooks in the land.
Well, mince pies like Christmas puddings where originally filled with meat! Lamb, was the main contender rather than dried fruit, nuts and spices that you find in them today. Their shape comes from what bakers thought the manger looked like that Jesus slept in. (Don’t worry this isn’t a sermon I promise you!). The tops of the pies represented the swaddling clothing that he was wrapped in. Sometimes the more adventurous and skilled baker fashioned an edible effigy of the infant Christ to complete the design. 12
A custom from the Middle Ages says, that if you eat a mince pie every day from Christmas to Twelfth Night you will have happiness for the next year. I beg to differ. I argue that you will either end up with diabetes, incredibly fat or even dead! As always dear reader, everything in moderation. However, that rule usually goes out the window in my house during Christmas time. I think it’s the one time of year when we can dispense with the dietary platitudes and throw caution to the wind and enjoy ourselves. It’s only once a year so why not make it a good one?
