13 January 2009

Green-Tomato Mincemeat, The Recipe!


After my previous post, a few of you asked what mincemeat was, and a couple of you asked for the recipe.  I was answering these questions one by one, but it may be easier to just post the recipe.  Thank you all for reading my blog and for asking those questions!  

Mincemeat originally was a combination of meat, fruit, and spices (hence the name) but has morphed into a sweeter creation minus the meat.  Some recipes still contain meat or suet, but most don't anymore.  It often has apples, raisins, currents and sometimes nuts, combined with spices.  The resulting mixture is sweet and gooey with lots of spice and texture.  My recipe is modified from my favorite canning cookbook Blue Ribbon Preserves by Linda J. Amendt.  This cookbook is on my counter continuously from June through September as it is just jam packed with great (and safe) recipes for canning produce.

Green-Tomato Mincemeat adapted from Blue Ribbon Preserves by Linda J. Amendt

Makes about 5 quart jars

Ingredients:
8 cups chopped green tomatoes
1 Tbls. salt
4 cups boiling water
10 cups tart green apples, chopped
4 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed
2 cups raisins
2 cups currants
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
3 Tbls. orange zest, finely chopped
1 Tbls. lemon zest, finely chopped
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
2 Tbls. unsalted butter

1.  Place tomatoes in a bowl and sprinkle with the salt.  Let stand for 1 hour to draw excess moisture out of them.  Rinse and drain well.  Pour boiling water over tomatoes and let stand for 5 minutes.  Drain well.
2.  In an 8-10 quart pan, combine the drained tomatoes and all of the remaining ingredients in the order listed except for the butter, stirring gently after each addition.
3.  Over medium heat, bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the apples are tender when pierced.  Stir frequently to prevent sticking.  Stir in the butter.  Remove the pan from the heat.
4.  Ladle the mincemeat into hot and sterilized jars.  Remove as many air bubbles as possible.  Leave 1/2 inch head space.  Wipe the jar rims and threads with a clean, damp cloth.  Cover with hot and sterilized lids and apply screw rings.  Process quart jars in a 200F water bath for 30 minutes.

31 comments:

Chef E said...

Wow I saw the crust but just now 'Saw' the crust, how cute little gingerbread men, you are so clever!

Also me being the food history buff, it was a disguise for hiding old meat scraps workers got from their employers, and with no cooling system it spoiled quickly, so hence they used fruit and spices... :)

I absolutely love the green tomato recipe!

Bob said...

Looks good, I know some folks who are just nutty about mincemeat. I will pass this along. :)

CurryLeaf said...

this is very new to me.I always thought it just as minced meat only.I actually skipped the previous post just after reading the title as I thought it was another meat dish or a meat in a dessert dish.Thanks for this recipe.

Reeni said...

I love green tomatoes! Especially fresh from my garden. This looks packed full of flavor and really delicious!

Kiezie said...

I LOVE the crust. What a fabulous idea!!

Sheila said...

The name is really misleading; I have had mincemeat pie and just thought that it had nuts and that was the "meat". Who knew?

The pie crust is adorable, I love cute things.

Wandering Coyote said...

And booze - often there is booze in mincemeat! I have one that is nice and rummy.

I have heard of green tomato mincemeat before from a vegetarian friend but never gotten around to trying it. Thanks for the recipe!

Tangled Noodle said...

Thanks for the recipe! I was curious about the filling but was enamored by the little cut-outs - now it's complete!

Mediterranean Turkish Cook said...

A very interesting recipe. Thanks for explaining the meaning of mincemeat. The picture looks very appealing.

Sunny said...

I've heard of mincemeat pie, but have never tried it. I love the crust, it looks so pretty!

Anonymous said...

Always loved mincemeat pie from my schooldays in Australia. Always thought they actually had meat in there.

Great recipe, thanks. Maybe I can use it in one of our asian-style pastry as fillings.

Also, I think your pie is too pretty to eat.

Tina said...

What a beautiful pie. I would be proud to have made someting that good looking. Thanks for sharing.

Oh, and I'm glad I ran across your site - it made me reread the French Woman book again. You never know who you may motivate :-)

Tina

Lori said...

What an interesting recipe. I'd heard of mincemeat pie, but never with tomatoes. Or maybe I just didn't know the whole recipe. ;) Thanks for sharing.

jd said...

I gotta admit - the thought of "mincemeat" pie has always scared me a little, but I think it's just because I never knew what was typically in it :)

Anyway, this sounds fantastic, and I LOVE the adorable crust design that you made.

Very cute!

Varsha Vipins said...

Wow..Lucky you..to pluck fresh tomatoes from the garden..Adorable cute ginger men n the recipe is so filling..Anyways,the 1st recipe I am gonna try from here is the chocolate mug Cake..Thats just awesome!!

Thanks for dropping by n the lovey comment..Pls be around.:)

Emily said...

I've never had mincemeat pie, but I would love to try it.

Lori said...

This would be a great one for the Fall. I would love to try this!

Anonymous said...

You are very good to make a crust that intricate. Nice touch to also throw in the green tomatoes! We're so used to seeing those babies fried. :)

Vera said...

How cute! Green tomatoes is such interesting addition; never heard of this before.

My crazy crazy life said...

OMG, look how cute the top of that pie is! You are like the coolest mom EV-A!!!

Dewi said...

You are amazing, look at the top of that pie, wow!
Green tomatoes sound delicious!
Cheers,
Elra

Pam said...

The crust looks fantastic! I've never had mincemeat before - it sounds great.

Sam said...

I've never tried mincemeat like this before, I'll definitely have to try it although I have a long wait before I can get any green tomatoes!

Rosa's Yummy Yums said...

That sounds very interesting! I bet this mincemeat pie taste wonderful!

Cheers,

Rosa

Nicole said...

Wow how interesting. What an adorable pie.

Girlfriend, you HAVE been busy! Congrats on the Thanksgiving 24, 24, 24 post. I am soooo behind the times. Good for you! So cool

Maria said...

Thanks for sharing the recipe! The crust looks amazing!

Hayley said...

Sounds delicious, and that gingerbread man crust is too cute!

Andrea said...

That pie is just amazing! I love the little people for the crust. I've never had mincemeat, but fully realize that is something that needs to change. Thanks for the recipe!

Chef E said...

I forgot to share, sorry I share so much, but my grandmother always had these pies around at holidays, she grew her own beef steak tomatoes, much like heirlooms today, and loved mincemeat pies...I thought as a kid they really were meat in them, until I began cooking, lol

Anonymous said...

Love your topcrust!

Anonymous said...

Mincemeat is a very familiar thing here in Ireland, especially around Christmas-time, when mince pies are the traditional baked goodie of the season. I keep threatening to make my own mincemeat (my Mum and sister do so) and the use of green tomatoes here is just intriguing. I'll be book-marking this one!

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