One of the most important Thanksgiving and Christmas dishes is the mince pie. The dinners on these occasions do not seem complete without this delicious adjunct, and as mince meat keeps long it can be made early and in quantity enough to last over New Year’s. Following is an excellent recipe for making the meat. This makes a great quantity and the Ingredients can probably be divided if too much:

Three pounds of prime beef from the tenderest part of the round, six pounds of apples (greenings), one and one-half pounds of suet, the juice and grated peel of two oranges and two lemons, two pounds of brown sugar, one pint of molasses, three pints of boiled cider, one quart of good California brandy, three grated nutmegs, one tablespoonful of mace, one and one-half tablespoonfuls of salt, two tablespoonfuls each of ginger and allspice, one tablespoonful of cloves, six tablespoonfuls of cinnamon, one-half pound of sliced citron, two pounds of seedless raisins, two pounds of large seeded raising, two pounds of currants and one glassful of grape jelly.

Steam the meat or let it simmer gently until tender, let it cool and chop it rather fine—the size of the average pea; chop the apples lo the size of white beans, Prepare the fruit carefully, mixing all the dry ingredients thoroughly; then add the cider, molasses, lemon and orange juices, and lastly the brandy. Mix again thoroughly, pack in a large stoneware jar, cover and stand in a cool, dry place. Mince-meat should stand about three weeks before using, to ripen and blend the flavors. In making pies, see to it that your pastry is of the best. An hour’s baking is none too long for perfect results.