The History of Mince Pies in 5 Fun Facts

Yule log, gingerbread, Christmas cake, stollen, candy canes, Christmas pudding; it's that time of year where the festive treats pile up in your kitchen and they never seem to last long. But not many Christmas desserts have as long and spicy a history as those yummy mince pies.

The History of Mince Pies in 5 Fun Facts

Mince Pies contained actual minced meat

Ever wondered why it's called "mincemeat" if it doesn't actually contain meat? Or perhaps, like me, you avoided mince pies as a child, thinking they contained the type of mince you'd put in Spaghetti Bolognese! Who'd put meat into a sweet dessert anyway?

Well, the Tudors. In fact, it wasn't unusual for people in medieval times to combine meat with sweet things, because desserts didn't really exist. The same goes for mince pies. In the medieval and Tudor periods, mince pies would have contained lamb meat. Later into the Georgian era, they probably would have been filled with meats like Ox Tongue (yes, that's a thing!). And the early Victorians would have had minced beef in their pies (that Spag Bol mince pie fear doesn't seem so silly now does it?). In fact, the meat filling to this yummy festive treat probably didn't get dropped until sometime into the 20th century.

In the Victorian era, mince pies wouldn't have had stars on top, they would have had tiny pastry babies!

Mince pies represented Jesus in the manger

In the Victorian era, mince pies took on a very religious role. They were baked with 13 ingredients, to represent Jesus' 13 disciples and they contained lamb to represent the shepherds and spices to represent the wise men from the Nativity story. Mince pies were even shaped differently. They were baked in rectangles to look like tiny mangers with a little pastry Jesus popped on the lid!

You weren't supposed to eat the crust

Admit it, the best part of any pie is the crust. Or perhaps that's because I'm such a carb fiend. But back in the medieval era, the pie crust was used like an old-school tupperware. The crust was called a "coffin" and it was used as a way of storing the pie filling to keep it nice and fresh. You weren't even supposed to eat the crusty part! Though given that the crust was just made from flour and water (and could be up to "several inches thick" on some pies!), it probably wouldn't have been that tasty anyway.

Mince pies had a bunch of different names

Although mince pies are popular at Christmas now, they were originally eaten all year round (although you could probably eat them all year round, given how early they come out in the supermarkets these days!). Because of this they picked up a bunch of different names including Shrid Pies, referring to the shredded meat and suet used in the filling, Wayfarer's Pies, because they were often served to travellers and visitors and Crib Pies, because of the Victorian's and their fondness of baking tiny pie-mangers.

But no matter the era, there's something special about eating a sweet, spiced pie during the winter months. Even with their year-round availability, the mince pie still became popular in the festive season, earning them the name Christmas Pyes.

Be careful which way you stir the mixing bowl when you do your holiday baking this year!

Mince pies are surrounded with superstitions

Being such an old tradition, the making and eating of mince pies comes with many customs and superstitions. According to English folklore, mince pies (and Christmas Pudding) should be made on "Stir-Up Sunday", the last Sunday before Advent. When preparing mince pies, the mixture should only ever be stirred clockwise. Stirring anti-clockwise was said to give you bad luck in the new year. And what should you do when you eat your first mince pie of this festive season? Make a wish of course!