How to Make Fat-Free Vegetarian Mincemeat with Green Tomatoes

Mincemeat from Mrs. Hatch

• 1/2 peck green tomatoes 
• 1/2 peck apples 
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon each cloves and allspice
• 1 cup vinegar
• 1 glass jelly or fruit juice or sweet cider (about a cup)
• 2 lemons, chopped
• 3 pounds raisins
• 3 pounds sugar

Cook tomatoes. After they are done, put through a chopper. Put apples, raisins and lemons through the chopper, too. Then add all the rest and heat for about 1 hour on top of stove.

Mincemeat pies and tarts have been part of Christmas baking for centuries. Records go back in England to the 13th century where it was traditionally served around Christmas time. It contained meats, suet, dried fruits and spices and has undergone many variations over the years. At one point, it was even banned by the Puritans on the grounds it was associated with catholic idolatry!

By the Victorian era, it was much sweeter and smaller than the original and was often made without meat. I like this one especially since the name of the person who gave it to my grandmother is Mrs. Hatch. Remember Mary’s mother on It’s a Wonderful Life? I always think of her when I read this.

The first thing I noticed were the instructions for half a peck of tomatoes and apples. A peck is a measurement we don't see much anymore. In dry measure, there were four pecks in a bushel and mostly tomatoes and fruit were measured this way. Remember, people 'put up' jars of tomatoes and fruit for the winter so the old recipes usually deal in quantity.

This recipe calls for half a peck of tomatoes and apples, since it really wasn't necessary to have a lot of it on hand.

For the tomatoes, half a peck would be about 5-1/2 pounds.

For the apples, half a peck would be about 5 pounds.

The amounts are different because we are talking about a dry measure of volume in pecks, and not weight. Visit Bushel and a Peck if you would like more information about how to decipher old measurements.

There is no such thing as a classic mincemeat pie. They have always been made with what was at hand and it's no different today. If want to try one with minced meat and suet, there are some wonderful recipes in the old cookbooks. This one is a vegetarian recipe based on what was left in the garden after harvest. Nothing was thrown away in my grandmother's time, so even the green tomatoes played a starring role at the holidays!

Modern Method:

You can make this recipe exactly as is and put it in pint jars and process in a water bath. You don't need a pressure canner because there is no suet or meat and it has a high acid content. You can also freeze it. Either way, you will have mincemeat filling for pies and tarts all winter long.

Feel free to experiment by using a combination of apples and pears, half and half. Anjou and Bosc pears are very nice for cooking. You can also add a half cup of dark rum and stir just before ladling into jars. This is best made in advance, so if you are getting the last of the summer's tomatoes just before the frost, it will be nicely aged for Christmas.

Put tomatoes in a food processor and chop on pulse. You don't want a purée! Sprinkle with salt, not iodized, and let them drain in a colander an hour or so. Chop the fruit and raisins. Combine everything in a large pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat and simmer for an hour or until nice and thick. Add rum, if using. Bottle in pint or quart jars and process in a water bath for 25 minutes.

Set them on your shelf when cool and feel proud!