I Just Learned Where Mince Pies Got Their Name From, And I'm Horrified

It took me a little while to learn to love mince pies, but once I’d developed a taste for them, there was no going back. 

I love their fruity, jammy insides packed with plump raisins ― but I’ve never quite understood how they got their name. 

After all, I told myself, “mincemeat” (the dried fruit and candied peel-filled preserve the pies contain) is neither minced nor a form of meat. 

But looking at the history of the word, it seems I had a horrifying lesson to learn. 

Oh dear...

Yep, I’m afraid it’s exactly as you might have thought. 

Originally, mince pies contained real meat, Historic UK’s site reads. 

Back in Tudor times, the desserts were rectangular rather than circular. They would often have a sought replica of the baby Jesus on their lids, too, a little reminiscent of a manger. 

They contained 13 ingredients to represent the birthday boy himself (AKA Jesus) and his 12 disciples. 

Traditional Christmas pudding recipes followed this rule too. 

Among those ingredients were raisins, prunes, figs, cinnamon, clove and minced lamb or mutton. 

These sheep-based inclusions were meant to represent the shepherds present at Christ’s birth. 

The meat changed to tongue and even tripe over time, Historic UK adds, becoming mostly beef-based until the fruit-only version was popularised by the late Victorians.

Wouldn’t the meat go off?

If you’ve made a Christmas pudding or cake before, you’ll know that they can sometimes spend months maturing at room temperature ― despite containing perishable ingredients like egg or suet. 

The same goes with mincemeat (anyone who’s planned a festive feast before will appreciate that the more stuff you can get done well in advance, the better). 

“Mincemeat originally came about as a good way of preserving meat, without salting, curing, smoking or drying it,” shortbread company Walker’s entry on the topic reads. 

All that sugar, citrus and (sometimes) booze work as a kind of pickling agent, so the meat was safe to eat. 

Still, edible is not the same as eatable...