Purists Don't Want Bakers to 'Mess' With the Mince Pie

Some Brits believe jazzing up the festive treat, made of dried fruit and pastry, takes away its nostalgic value

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Every Christmas, Brits devour about 800 million mince pies, but moves to jazz up the festive sweet treats made of dried fruit and pastry are stirring anger among purists.

It is the source of some puzzlement to the outside world that British mince pies have not in fact been filled with minced meat for centuries.

Instead, the mincemeat encased in an individual shortcrust pastry pie is a mixture of different dried fruits, chopped apples and spices soaked in spirits such as brandy and rum.

In recent years, however, home cooks and big supermarket chains have begun to experiment, putting their own twist on the pies by adding less traditional ingredients to try to tempt more adventurous palates.

Variations include topping the individual oven-baked pies with glace icing or frangipane, adding chocolate, salted caramel or even custard to the filling—to the dismay of food writer Felicity Cloake.

"Monstrosities" is how Cloake describes such adaptations, adding that mince pies "are not broke and do not need fixing."