Today, they are round and sweet, but they used to be oblong and savoury. Mince pies date back to the 13th century, when they were known as mutton, minched, shrid or Christmas pies, and contained principally meat along with suet, fruit and spices. The Victorians made them sweeter, although suet remained part of the “mincemeat” recipe until food companies tuned into the needs of vegetarians and vegans. The average Briton apparently eats 27 mince pies over the Christmas period, but 20% of the 370m bought each year are thrown away. Few people make their own from scratch these days, and why would you when you can choose from chocolate and cherry mince pies, gin mince pies, salted caramel mince pies, chocolate orange mince pies …?
What about turkeys? Well, goose, pheasant, swan and peacocks were the roast birds of choice for the Christmas dinner table for centuries. King Henry VIII was known to eat turkey at Christmas soon after the bird was introduced to England in 1526, but it didn’t become widespread until the 1950s. Now about 10m are eaten in 76% of UK households at Christmas.