Mincemeat Pie – Nutrition and Food Safety (2024)

FAQs

Does mincemeat pie need refrigeration? ›

COOL the pie in room temperature on a baking sheet before cutting and serving. Cooling time is about 45 minutes for a warm pie or 2 hours for cooler pie. Cover unused BAKED pie portions with foil wrap and store for up to 2 days at room temperature or up to 4 days when refrigerated.

Healthy eating for people with diabetes is the same as for everyone else. All of the traditional Christmas foods such as mince pies, Christmas pudding and Christmas cake can still be enjoyed but just don't eat too many or too much in one go.

Not only is mince an incredibly versatile meat, it is also packed full of nutrients that can help support good health and wellbeing. With mince, you don't need to eat a lot of it to get the nutritional goodness.

Allergens: cereals containing gluten, eggs, milk, soya, nuts, sulphites. May contain: mustard, peanuts, sesame.

How to Store Mince Pies. Mince pies will keep well if placed in an airtight tin for up to seven days. Sometimes they benefit from a gentle warming in the oven before serving.

If a pie contains eggs or dairy products, it should be stored in the refrigerator and not left out at room temperature for more than two hours. Pies that do not contain dairy products, such as fruit pies can be stored, loosely covered at room temperature for up to two days.

Sadly, they're not great as a regular part of your diet. An average individual meat pie provides around 450kcal, but the biggest problem is the 12g of saturated fat inside it – that's more than half the daily guideline. If you have buttery mashed potato or chips on the side, the fat content of your meal is even higher.

Mince pies are high in calories, saturated fat and sugar because of the pastry case, as well as the suet and sugar in the mincemeat filling.

Mincemeat is essentially an ancient mixture of dried fruits, ground almonds and spices, sugar and fat, almost certainly brought back to England from the Middle East by Crusaders. It once contained minced meat and fat (lamb usually), and well into the 20th century, beef suet was always included, even when made at home.

The mince pie was originally filled with meat but it's believed that it wasn't until the late Victorian period and the early 20th century that mince pies shifted to a pie made from fruit fillings. Is it still illegal to eat mince pies on Christmas day?

Is mincemeat considered a Processed Meat? ›

Processed meat is meat that's been cured, salted, smoked, or otherwise preserved in some way (such as bacon, sausages, hot dogs, ham, salami, and pepperoni). However, this doesn't include fresh burgers or mince – putting meat through a mincer doesn't mean it becomes 'processed' unless it is modified further.

You have probably heard it many times already: don't eat too much red meat or processed foods. But research shows processed red meats, like bacon, hot dogs, and salami are the biggest problem.

High fat sauces, Christmas pudding and mince pies, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, garlic and onions can trigger IBS symptoms. Login to view all our gut-friendly recipes on our website. Eat slowly and take your time when eating – avoid overeating, even though it may be tempting.

Mix apples, diced beef, raisins, sugar, beef broth, orange sections, sorghum, pickle juice, pineapple juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and salt together in a large bowl until well combined. Store filling in the refrigerator or freeze until ready to use.

The pastry, butter, refined sugar (and lots of additives if eating shop-bought) in mince pies can often lead to an upset digestive system.

Havern explains: "The maximum amount of time perishable foods can [spend] in the danger zone is two hours. At two hours, the food must be consumed, stored correctly, or thrown away. This includes all cooked leftovers, [chopped] fruits and vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, and dairy products."

However, others pointed out that freezing your mince pies, if you have the space to, is the best way to ensure that the pies stay really fresh - which is also what top celebrity chefs like Nigella Lawson and the expert team at BBC Good Food recommend.

The mincemeat will last in sealed and sterilised jars for up to six months. The mince pies will last 3-4 days. The pastry can be kept and frozen for up to 3 months. You can use shopbought shortcrust pastry instead - I recommend the 500g packets.

The high sugar content of mincemeat, enhanced by fat and perhaps alcohol, means mincemeat can be stored at a cool ambient temperature for many months.