Question about Christmas Mincemeat - Delia recipe

vixtress

yes i know there are more important things to worry about and i obviously need to get out more but.................

i made mincemeat for the first time ever the other day and its lovely. i have tucked it away in a nice dark cupboard and dont intend touching it until xmas. but............

i have just been reading the 'what not do do recipe thread' and some made the mincemeat, followed the recipe to the letter and it went mouldy after 2 weeks :eek: :eek: now many of my xmas pressies are gonna be relying on this mincemeat and i was just wondering if anyone else had the same problem and if so what can i do to stop it?

thanks, vix

MRSMCAWBER

Hi there

If you have it in the jars...pour extra alcohol over the top...will help keep it, and heck will it taste nice... i have 2 jars that i made last year that are going to be used this xmas...and they taste stunning... not a delia recipe though.... but alcohol will see it is fine for xmas

sallya_3

I make Delia's mincemeat every year - Ii still have a couple of jars left from last christmas and it's still absolutely fine. As long as you stir it regularly while it's cooling, everything gets sealed in the melted fat and will not go mouldy.

It doesn't look great when the suet has cooled (everything has a pale white coating) but it tastes fantastic!

Sal
x

nearlynewbie

I've made various mincemeats in the past for presents and they've all kept well. They wer all made with suet and carefully stirrred and kept fine-.of course you must sterilise the jars etc > hard to know what went worng with the mouldy ones on the thread!

poodlehorse

I made Delia's for the first time last year and it has kept very well. No problems at all and it tastes heavenly. You'll be fine for crimbo pressies.

Penelope_Penguin

I too have been making this recipe for many years, and never had a problem keeping it. Did you lightly cook everything as it says in the recipe? That stops the apple from fermenting, and covers all the fruit in a thin layer of suet, which preserves it.

Clean, sterile jars and lids are important, too.

Penny. x

scrimpingbadger

I made Delia's a couple of years ago, but I may have made a mistake (me? surely not?) somewhere along the line because it grew and grew (maybe fermented?)
However,I gave some to my ma and she loved it (even if there was too much).
Oddly, I was just getting ingredients ready to make some for this year and am not going to 'test' the brandy beforehand this time.

Ah, so that's where I went wrong..........

Hapless_2

I'm making 2 lots this year, one with Brandy and one with whiskey.

vixtress

thanks for that
i did sterilise the jars, used waxed discs and the cellophane discs under the lids (just washed the lids, didnt sterilise them though)
i followed the recipe to the letter but not sure i had the oven hot enough as the suet didnt fully melt. i did stir it well so i think i will just have to keep my finger crossed. hope the suet bit is ok, mind you a lot of recipes you dont melt the suet at all so i am hoping it will be ok.

dannahaz

I've been making it for years and have never had a problem with mould. I have a pot of last year's, and that's still OK too

It's important that you cook the ingredients in the oven. The suet should melt and, as others have said, it's getting everything coated with this which protects it.

I've used rum instead of brandy for the last few years. Yum.

floyd

Has anyone ever made Delias mincemeat in glass kilner jars without using wax paper on top? Does it keep OK?

Reason I ask is because I have ordered wax discs but they won't arrive until after the weekend and I need to make the mincemeat this weekend. I dont want it to go mouldy