Shop bought versus making own mincemeat

[TheDreamCrusher]

I love baking and make mince pies every year and they are delicious, but I feel a bit of a fraud as I buy the mincemeat from the shop.

Taste wise, which is best, shop bought or home made mince meat? If it’s make your own, please recommend a recipe.

Thx

I don’t think there’s a radical difference. You could add a splash of port or brandy to decent stop bought? I did have a lovely recipe for a fat free version, but they’re easy to find, and pretty similar.

I do think cranberry jelly is disgusting from supermarkets, though. I always make this, but vary the sugar to taste

https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/cranberry-port-and-orange-sauce/

I don't make all that many mince pies, so I've only ever bought ready-made, usually supermarket own. Sometimes I don't get around to making them and find a random jar of the stuff at the back of the cupboard in late November, when I'm putting away the new jar I just bought!

This isn't very helpful, is it?😁

Life's too short.

Go out tomorrow and buy all the variety of mincemeats you can find. Spend the next 5 weeks deciding which tastes the most home-made.

Send all the samples to me for adjudication.

Personally life is too short ! Buy good quality mincemeat and it will be just as good / better than home made and non of the faff !

I make it and I do think it's better than even good quality bought, but I wouldn't bother if I didn't also enjoy it.

I prefer homemade and it is very easy to make. I use Mary Berry's recipe which uses butter not suet. But I find baking relaxing

I just use cheap shop bought and add a splash of brandy to the jar and stir it up, always tastes good

I use shop bought but have done the Jamie Oliver recipe which adds chopped apple and a few other bits to shop bought and it is delicious

I don't actually like mincemeat, but my late DH and my still current SIL do. So I make this recipe. https://www.farmersgirlkitchen.co.uk/home-and-freezer-digest-enduring-legacy/ It has the advantage that you don't have to grate or finely chop the apple.

I prefer the texture of home made mincemeat, as the shop ones tend to have a lot of fillers. Saying that, the last time I made mincemeat it was not pleasant at all and on the bitter side, so shop would have tasted better. My mum's version is amazing.

I did try making my own mincemeat once. It was very nice, but it seems impossible to make in small enough quantities for what I will use. I made as many mince pies as we were likely to eat and also used it in other recipes, but I still ended up with loads left.

I now buy a decent jar of supermarket mincemeat and then zuzz it up a bit before I use it by adding a splash of brandy, some orange zest and maybe some ground almonds.

Home made is so much better - flavour and texture.
I use Mrs Breton’s recipe for luxury mincemeat but make half quantity as it makes loads and we eat a lot of mince pies! It’s easy to make. I do not have loads of time for this kind of thing - I teach- but this is a non- negotiable part of Christmas for our family.
Husband makes the pastry and the pies, I make the mincemeat, Christmas puddings (2) (family recipe) and every other year a Christmas cake (Nigella).

Rachel Allen's recipe is great. I tweak it so it's the same amount of dried fruit but includes ones I particularly like - apricots, cranberries, sour cherries, whatever.

After I've made it I divide it into two or three. One, I used that year; the others go into the big freezer to be used in subsequent years.

Before I could be bothered with making it, I bought a decent jar and added a grated Bramley apple, a slosh of brandy and a pack of dried cranberries.

I wonder if this is the sort of thing I might do when I retire? It all sounds wonderful.

I make my own and it tastes so much better. None of the added rubbish too.

It doesn't take long and then it goes into jars in the fridge to mature for a couple of weeks.

I use mary berry s recipe as a basis. I use the mix of dried fruits i fancy (or i have in) generally dont bother with the almonds, and just simmer ererything together then put it in the sterilised jars. Very easy and I think its much nicer than shop bought.

I use supermarket ones but add grated apple. I will try and get a ‘naice’ one though, that doesn’t just taste sweet and gloopy.

I buy a good one and add brandy to the jar before I use it.

Liking this thread - as I have retired and doing more 'stuff'. Made my own Christmas cake yesterday. It was surprisingly easy to do and turned out really well!

Could I ask which shop bought mincemeat are people getting that is a bit nicer? Gloopy doesn't sound appealing.

Another Mary Berry mincemeat recipe fan here. I won’t ever make anything else now. It is ridiculously easy to make. I also don’t bother with the almonds as I don’t like chunks of nuts in any of my Christmas food (cake pudding or mince pies).

I use Delia Smith's recipe and have done for decades. Keeps quite happily for a year or two in the jar, no freezer or fridge space required. This year we will be having what's left from last year. It doesn't take long to make. She uses chopped almonds, I use ground, but otherwise I think I follow the recipe closely. I think it's better than shop bought. Not too sweet, plenty of brandy, real spice and citrus, not flavourings.

I don't know about taste wise...but price wise it seems so much more expensive to make your own.

Homemade is far better than even luxury shop bought in my opinion. I make a dozen jars every year, 6 Mary Berry and 6 Delia. It's very easy and tastes delicious.

I usually just jazz up the shop bought one with a few extra additions.

I'm a keen baker but none of my immediate family like mince pies so I mainly just make them for visitors etc.

We make this very easy homemade recipe. It's very quick and straightforward and you can easily make half a batch or whatever.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/easy-mincemeat

I started making it as we can't buy it due to allergies but I wouldn't go back to bought even if I could. This is enjoyable and quick to make and the texture and flavour are so much nicer than any bought ones I've had.