THE IDEAL RECIPE FOR UNBELIEVABLY EASY MINCE PIES

MINCE PIES

Tis the season for mince pies and for those that want to surpass last year’s homemade mince pies– which really just involve rolling out the pastry and adding the filling! – get ready to make your own mincemeat and impress your friends. Seriously easy to make, the Ball® brand Spiced Pear Mincemeat will be your secret weapon, and is easy to make, and ideal to eat straight away, or preserve for next year too!

Ball® Brand Spiced Pear Mincemeat

Yield: about 9 (490ml) jars

  • 3.15 Bartlett pears (about 21 medium)
  • 1 lemon
  • 900g sultanas
  • 1.52kg sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cloves
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon allspice
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 240ml vinegar, 5% acidity

Prep: wash pears and lemon under cold running water; drain. Cut pears in half lengthways and core. Coarsely chop pears. Cut lemon into quarters and remove seeds. Finely chop lemon, including peel, using food processor or food grinder.

Cook: combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil over a medium heat, stirring to prevent sticking. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes.

Fill: ladle hot mincemeat into a hot jar, leaving ½ inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Clean jar rim. Centre lid on jar and adjust band to fingertip-tight. Place jar on the rack elevated over simmering water in hot water bath preserver. Repeat until all jars are filled.

Process: lower the rack into simmering water. Water must cover jars by 2.5cm. Adjust heat to medium-high, cover and bring water to a rolling boil. Process 490ml jars 25 minutes. Turn off heat and remove cover. Let jars cool 5 minutes. Remove jars, do not retighten bands if loose. Cool 12 hours. Test seals. Label and store jars.

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