Traditional Christmas Mincemeat

This mincemeat is easy to make if you have a food processor. If you don't have one, put the mixture through an old-fashioned  mincer. It will work quite well.  I don't put suet in mincemeat, because I sometimes eat the mincemeat raw, and I don't want pieces of uncooked suet through it!

Ingredients

• grated rind of 1 lemon and 1 orange
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 small braeburn apples
• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 cups sultanas
• 2 cups mixed fruit
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 cup brandy, whisky or rum

Method

Remove all the coloured rind from the lemon and orange with a potato peeler, then chop it with the sugar in a food processor, until very fine.

Quarter the unpeeled apples, remove the cores, and chop each quarter into two or three even pieces. Put these in the food processor with the lemon juice, half the sultanas, and half the mixed fruit, then process until the apple is finely chopped.

Add the remaining fruit and all the flavourings, and process in bursts, without "mushing" the apple.

Spoon the mixture into jars which have been boiled, with their lids, for 3 - 4 minutes, then top with a little more spirits. Screw on the boiled lids and refrigerate up to a year, adding  more spirits if the mixture seems dry.