It's Mince Pie Time

It's mince pie time! This week we'll be making mince pies for the festive season. The kitchen will be humming to Christmas songs as we roll out the butter pastry and spoon the tasty mince meat into those perfectly formed cases. It's a massive task in our household, as we have already promised a box of mince pies to almost everyone in the family.

I'll keep you posted on how it goes, but in the meantime, here are three things about mince pies that I doubt you know:-

1. They weren't always round - Mince pies used to be baked in a large rectangular shape, possibly to represent Christ's cradle. Sometimes, a pastry figure of the baby Jesus was baked on top.
2. A chef created a £3,500 pie - The world's most expensive mince pie was made by London chef Ben Tish in 2012 for a charity raffle. It contained truffle, foie gras and Remy Martin brandy.
3. They've had many names - Before we settled on 'mince pies' the festive treats were called mutton pies, shrid pies or Christmas pies