Mince-Pyes of Stinking Meat
Recipes of Christmas Past
The plumb-pudding in danger: - or - state epicures taking un petit souper
Mincemeat as a Christmas food was first documented in 1557 by Thomas Tusser whose Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry includes mince or ‘shred’ pies in a list of foods that were standard at Christmas (Special Collections holds several early editions of this book).
This recipe is taken from The country housewife’s family companion published in 1750, which covered all aspects of household management, from recipes to medicines and animal husbandry.
The recipe describes how a woman, given spare offal from the lord of Gaddesden Manor's household, which would sometimes be 'stinking', through the 'negligence of careless servants' made seasoned mince pies to disguise the taste of the meat.
Recipes like this, which describe the living conditions of the rural poor in the mid eighteenth century, show how the cookery collection can give insight into experiences which would often be overlooked.
