Mincemeat is a mixture of chopped dried fruit, distilled spirits, a combination of spices, and often beef suet, usually used as a pie or pastry filling. Mincemeat formerly contained meat, notably beef or venison, but many modern recipes replace the suet with vegetable shortening. Mincemeat is typically associated with Christmas traditions, and November through the end of December is when you’ll see it available in jars at many grocery stores.

The classic ingredients in mincemeat pies are apples, candied citrus peel, raisins, sugar, and brandy. Cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg typically spice the mixture. More often than not, mincemeat today doesnt contain actual meat, but it can contain meat. In the U.S., bakers often add fresh and dried cranberries, walnuts or blanched almonds, dried currants, dates, meat (beef, lamb or chicken), and beef suet or butter. Suet is used to make the filling rich and silky, but if you want a meat-free version, butter is a good substitution.

Historically, mincemeat was a way of preserving meat using sugar and alcohol without smoke or salt. The meat of choice tended to be mutton. In the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, mincemeat was a mixture of fruit (prunes, raisins, dates) and finely diced meat, along with wines or vinegars. But by the 18th century, wine and vinegar were replaced mostly by brandy or other distilled spirits.

In summary, mincemeat is a sweet, spiced fruit mixture usually used as pie filling, typically associated with Christmas traditions. It usually contains chopped dried fruits, spices, sugar, nuts, distilled spirits, a fat of some type, and sometimes meat.