Ingredients
1 cup currants
1 cup sultana raisins
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
1 lemon, juice & grated rind
1 orange, juice & grated rind
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 pinch pickling salt
4 1/2 lb pears (10 large)
1 cup slivered blanched almonds
1/4 cup rum
Directions
In a large stainless steel or enamel saucepan, combine currants,
raisins, apricots, lemon and orange rind and juice, brown sugar,
cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt.
Peel, core and chop pears to yield 10 cups. Stir into fruit mixture.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat. COVER and simmer 30 minutes, stirring
occasionally.
Fill boiling water canner with water. Place 5 clean pint mason jars
in canner over high heat.
Place snap lids in boiling water; boil 5 min to soften sealing
compound.
UNCOVER fruit mixture and continue cooking, stirring occasionally,
about 15 minutes until very thick. Stir in almonds and rum; simmer 5
minutes longer.
Ladle mincemeat into hot jars to within 1/2 inch of top rim (head
space). Remove air bubbles by sliding rubber spatula between glass
and food; readjust head space to 1/2 inch. Wipe jar rim removing any
stickiness. Center snap lid on jar; apply screw band just until
fingertip tight. Place jar in canner. Repeat for remaining mincemeat.
Cover canner; return water to a boil. Process 20 minutes at
altitudes up to 1000 ft. Remove jars. Cool 24 hours. Check jar
seals. (Sealed lids curve downward.) Remove screw bands (if desired).
Wipe jars.
Label and store in a cool, dark place.
Source: Bernardin Guide to Home Preserving revised Canada 1992.
Shared but not tested by Elizabeth Rodier Aug 93
Servings: 5 servings
Pear Mincemeat Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Meat; Pear
The History of Recipes
It is possible to track the history of meal recipes back into distant history, in truth as far as the Egypt of the Pharoahs, and possibly even further. Having said that, sadly, these early cookbooks were just simple pictorial instructions for meal preparation.
In fact, the most ancient recipe discovered so far, according to Professor Solomon Katz, are some stone tablets in Sumerian which show the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as having made anyone who drank it feel `blissful`. Later on, in The time of the romans around 25BC a man called Apicius compiled a number of scripts which described recipes prepared by wealthy Romans. In his publication, Apicius recounts how the meals of wealthy Romans were divided into hors d`oeuvre, main meal and afters, something we still use today. This early Roman chef tells us how the cooks of Roman times made use of many different aromatic flavours, including a few that will be familiar to modern chefs like basil, mint and dill. Later, there are two interesting cookery books published in the 1300s : a recipe book titled `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary titled `Curye on Inglish`. Perhaps surprisingly, these have no connection with the spicy food that is familiar to us all today, but instead recipes for the types of meals on the menus of the rich and powerful. In the fifteenth century, knights returning from the crusades brought us many new foods and spices from the East, such as coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary. These new spices and herbs led to a surge in books on cookery, most of which are kept safe in private cookery archives. By the arrival of the 1900s, cooking publications were increasing in popularity as a result of increased literacy, more free time and disposable income. Like it or not, the introduction of television brings us celebrity chefs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. Which brings us neatly up to date and the internet revolution, permitting everybody to access massive numbers of recipes like those on the site you are now reading. |
We hope you enjoy this Pear Mincemeat recipe.
