Why is mincemeat called mincemeat when it contains no meat?
Mincemeat was originally a conglomeration of bits of meat, dried fruit and spices, created as an alternative to smoking or drying for preservation, a variant form of sausage. Mincemeat containing actual meat has become less common over the years. The customary form today typically consists of raisins, spices, grated apple, and animal suet, though many commercial varieties use hard vegetable fat instead, making it completely vegetarian. Mincemeat may also contain currants, candied fruits, and brandy, rum or other liquor. The mince in mincemeat traces its roots back to the Latin minutia (“something small”). The word mincemeat is an adaptation of an earlier term minced meat, simply meaning that, “meat chopped into small pieces”. As an ingredient or substance, however, mincement has almost always been one word.
