Mincemeat Recipe (for mince pies)

I suddenly realised Christmas is fast approaching and I had better get on with making mincemeat for mince pies. I can't find the cookery book I usually use for mincemeat and christmas cake recipe. The cake doesn't matter as the oven here is too crappy to make slow cooked big cakes anyway. The mincemeat is also made more difficult by the fact that you can't get suet in France or bramley apples and I can't find anything but sultanas or prunes (ie no currents or raisins - I expect the supermarket in Tarbes has them but I can't be bothered to go that far) plus mixed peel is 1 million euros a small box. Luckly an english neighbour had some suet to spare and we will just have to make do with granny smith apples and sultanas in place of currents and raisins. We will need to get some suet and maybe mixed peel brought out by the next kind visitors... maybe we can also import a bramley apple tree.
The internet and the dictionary tell me that suet is calf kidney fat (graisse de rognon de veau) so I am going to try getting some from the butcher and making my own suet at some point too. It seems you just melt it to let any solid bits settle out, dispose of them and grate the pure fat you are left with then sprinkle with flour... interesting.

8oz suet (vegetarian if you must - or grated frozen butter if you can't get suet)
8oz bramley apple chopped finely (or granny smith or whatever you can get)
4oz candied peel
4oz marmalade
8oz sultanas
8oz raisins
8oz currents
10oz demerara sugar
1tsp mixed spice
1/2 tsp nutmet
Juice of 2 lemons and zest of one (finely chopped or grated)
200ml brandy

Mix everything together in a big bowl. Cover and leave overnight.
Put in to sterilised jars, try to distribute the juice and fruit evenly.
You need to leave it perhaps a month before using but it will keep much longer and mature nicely with age.

I discovered half way through making this that my lemon zester is lost in a box somewhere probably not the same one as the cookbook.
Feeble Rhoda - I can't live like this boo hoo hoo everything is a mess and lost and cold and dirty...
Positive Rhoda - pull yourself together woman, use a potato peeler, it will be fine, don't be such a wimp, it is only for a year or two.