“I’ll make mincemeat out of you!!!” A classic cartoon threat. It conjures up the carnivorous mincemeat pies of Tudor England where animal fats and meats were chopped and diced and baked with spices and fruits. Modern mince pies forgo the meat and kidney fat.
Mincemeat is now the ultimate celebration of dried fruits. Minced and mixed and baked, these dried-up old fruits come back to life, full of sweetness and flavor in the cold dark days of winter.
I wrote this light-hearted poem to be—like mincemeat—a tribute to the humble dried fruit. As you read it, you may detect allusions to the also-underrated powers and passions of old age. Old doesn’t mean cold!
P.S. Many mincemeat pie recipes have lots of butter and sugar. I found and adapted this to limit the added sugar and saturated fat and focus on the fruit.
P.P.S. Use any combinations of dried fruits you want for the filling. It’s hard to go wrong.
A Wrinkle in Wintertime
When spring’s spritely stream
spills forth in full flood
of summer solstice,
a bounty of berries bursts upon
the breakfast cereal scene.
Fresh and firm and full,
packed with juice and joy,
swollen with pride and life,
bringing striking sweetness
to that dry bed
of stable table staples.
But in December’s dark days
strawberries taste like straw
and blueberries blanch.
Their bold hothouse hues
promise summer’s heat
but only leave me colder.
Winter has its own warmth
not of sun, but hearth.
Not of the bursting berry
but the wrinkled raisin.
Dried but soft
dark but rich
old but full of strength
stored up from summer vine and autumn sun.
Common, humble, understated
but enduring, versatile, capable,
able to handle heat and spice,
to make mincemeat of
pies and Christmas from puddings
and soft sweet hot little buns
bearing crosses to show
that even rolls can ravish.
I love the light summer freshness
of strawberries and sweet cream.
But when the long nights come,
give me the richness of wrinkles.
Mincemeat
Ingredients:
- 75 g dates, chopped
- 75 g sultanas
- 150 g raisins
- 75 g dried currants
- 6 dried figs, chopped
- 2 apples, peeled and grated
- The juice of half of a lemon
- The juice and zest of 1 satsuma or clementine
- 1/2 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 90 ml brandy
Instructions:
Step 1: Put all the ingredients into a large pot over medium heat. Bring it to a simmer and lower the heat a bit and allow it to simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes until the dried fruit is plump, and the apple is soft and cooked through.
Step 2: Cool to room temperature.
Step 3: Fill pie crusts with mincemeat and cover with lids (see shortcrust recipe below)
Step 4: Bake at 400 F for about 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool
Butterless shortcrust pastry (for mince pies)
Ingredients:
- 300 g all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs
- 70 ml of extra virgin olive oil
- 70 g caster (baker’s) sugar (granulated is okay)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
Instructions:
Step 1: Beat the eggs in a bowl.
Step 2: Add the sugar and olive oil and mix.
Step 3: Add the sifted flour and baking powder.
Step 4: Stir with a fork until the dough begins to firm up.
Step 5: Place the dough on a pastry board and knead until smooth and homogeneous.
Step 6: Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes in the fridge.
Step 7: Roll out and cut larger and smaller circles to fit as the bases and tops of small pies, depending on the size of your small pie pans or muffin pans
Michael Orlich, the husband of Pastor Raewyn, father of Eleanor, Eric, and Desmond, and son of Linda enjoys baking, writing poems, running with Bella the dog, and doctoring and teaching at Loma Linda University.