12 Days of a Crafty Christmas.

The 7th Day of a Crafty Christmas: Making Merry - Fruit Mince

There is nothing more merry than the smell of homemade fruit mince.

I made some a few years ago and put a sealed pot 

of this black gold in the back of the fridge

which kept for 12 months and tasted just as wonderful 

the following Christmas.

This recipe make a huge amount but

it makes a wonderful gift done up in a lovely jar.

And there are so many yummy things to make with it.

 You will need:

1kg of mixed Fruit

1 cup of dried chopped Apricots

1 cup of dried chopped Figs

1 cup of glazed chopped Cherries

1 cup of dried chopped Dates

1 cup of dried chopped Prunes

1/2 cup of dried Cranberries

1/2 cup of raw Sugar

1 flat teaspoon ground Cinnamon

1 flat teaspoon ground Nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground Cardamon

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla bean paste 

[or 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence]

3 tablespoons Brandy Essence

the rind of 1 Orange

the juice of 2 Oranges

1 + 1/2 cups of Orange or Apple juice

Then you should:

Put the whole lot in a big pot and bring to the boil. 

Simmer for 10 mins or until most of the 

liquid is absorbed into the fruit.

Cook on low for a further 5 mins.

Take off the heat and allow to cool in the pot.

Sterilize your jars and spoon the mixture in 

making sure to push it down so that there 

is no air left in any little pockets.

Decorate with ribbon or make your own labels.

Check out this post for some ideas 

about what you can make with the mixture.