Mince pies weren’t always the sweet, fruity treats we know today. In Tudor times, they often contained meat—usually veal or mutton—along with suet, dried fruits, rosewater, and spices. Back then, sweet and savoury mingled happily in the same dish, and spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves were as much about showing off your wealth as they were about taste. These three exotic spices symbolised the gifts of the Magi—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—making mince pies a deeply symbolic addition to the Tudor Christmas table.
The symbolism didn’t stop there. If the pies were made with lamb, they could represent the shepherds in the Nativity story, tying together the dish with the religious themes of the season. The pies themselves were often shaped like small, oblong “coffins,” said to represent the manger where Jesus was born. So, mince pies weren’t just something tasty at the end of a meal—they were a rich blend of flavour, meaning, and faith, all wrapped in pastry.
Tudor feasts were grand affairs, especially at court. In 1534, Anne Boleyn famously gave King Henry VIII a silver table fountain that flowed with rosewater so he could wash his hands between courses—a luxurious touch that shows how important scent, flavour, and spectacle were to Tudor dining. While most people didn’t have rose-scented fountains, they could still enjoy richly spiced pies that captured the season’s abundance.
Mince pies were also a regular feature of festive feasting. The poet Robert Herrick (1591–1674) celebrated them in his verse:
“Come, guard this night the Christmas pie,
That the thief, though ne’er so sly,
With his flesh-hooks don’t come nigh
To catch it.”
Clearly, mince pies were treasured enough to need guarding! They also appear in Thomas Tusser’s 1573 Christmas Husbandlie Fare, where he lists them alongside other festive favourites:
“Good bread & good drinke…/brawne pudding & souse & good mustarde withal./Biefe, mutton, & porke, shred pyes of the best,/pig, veale, goose & capon, & Turkey wel drest:/Chese, apples & nuttes…”
The festive season didn’t stop on Christmas Day. In Tudor England, the Twelve Days of Christmas were filled with feasting, dancing, plays, and games, all leading up to Twelfth Night on 5 January. Twelfth Night celebrations were the grand finale, often featuring a special Twelfth Night cake—think of it as a Tudor version of a New Year’s Eve bash. It was a time to indulge, share good food, and enjoy the company of others, with mince pies playing a part in this extended season of merriment.
If you’d like to see a Tudor mince pie attempt in action (and chuckle at my less-than-polished baking skills), feel free to watch the YouTube video version here.
Original 1588 Recipe (from The Good Hous-wiues Treasurie):
“To Make Minst Pyes – Take your Veale and perboyle it a little, or mutton, then set it a cooling: and when it is colde, take three pound of suit to a legge of mutton, or fower pound to a fillet of Veale, and then mince them small by them selues, or together whether you will, then take to season them halfe an vnce of Nutmegs, half an vnce of cloues and Mace, halfe an vnce of Sinamon, a little Pepper, as much Salt as you think will season them, either to the mutton or to the Veale take viij. yolkes of Egges when they be hard, half a pinte of rosewater full measure, halfe a pound of Suger, then strain the Yolkes with the Rosewater and the Suger and mingle it with your meate, if ye haue any Orrenges and Lemmans you must take two of tgem and take the pilles very thin and mince them very smalle, and put them in a pound of currans, six dates, alf a pound of prunes laye Currans and Dates vpon the top of your meate, you must take two or three Pomewaters of Wardens and mince with your meate, you maye make them woorse if you will, if you will make good crust put in three or foure yolkes of eggs a litle Rosewater, & a good deale of suger.”
As you can see, it’s all a bit vague by modern standards—no temperature, no timings, and quantities that assume you might be feeding half the village.
Modernised Recipe (Adapted by Brigitte Webster, author of Eating with the Tudors):
To save you from wrestling with an entire leg of mutton and guesswork, historian Brigitte Webster has adapted this Tudor mince pie for modern kitchens. It’s still rich and unusual, but far easier to manage. Brigitte’s book, Eating with the Tudors, is an excellent resource if you’re interested in exploring historical recipes like this one. It’s filled with thoughtfully recreated dishes and fascinating insights into Tudor food culture, from the kitchens to the dining table.
Ingredients:
- 560–690g veal or lamb mince
- 1 batch of fine pastry
- 340g suet if using lamb (450g if using veal)
- ~120g currants
- ~120g prunes, chopped
- ~120g candied orange and/or lemon peel, chopped
- 1–2 dates, chopped
- 1–2 hard pears (wardens), peeled, cored, chopped
- ~2.5g ground nutmeg
- ~2.5g ground mace
- ½ tsp ground cloves
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 2 hard-boiled egg yolks, chopped
- 60ml rosewater (you might dilute it slightly)
- 50–60g sugar
Method:
- Mix all the solid ingredients in a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, blend the rosewater, egg yolks, and sugar.
- Combine both mixtures.
- Line a pie dish or small tins with pastry, spoon in the mixture, and top with a lid (remember to leave a few vents).
- Bake at about 180°C (350°F) for up to two hours, or until the pastry is firm and golden.
You’ll notice in the video that I have adapted this recipe slightly (I was cheeky and used shop-bought pastry, for example!).
This modern version invites you to taste a sliver of 16th-century life, no rosewater fountain required. Whether you love them or not, these Tudor mince pies offer a fascinating glimpse into how much our festive foods—and our traditions—have changed over time.
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References:
The Good Hous-wiues Treasurie (1588).
Ken Albala, Food in Early Modern Europe (2003).
Judith Flanders, Christmas: A History (2017).
Hannah Glasse, The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy (1747).
Diane Purkiss, English Food: A People’s History (2022).
Thomas Tusser, Five Hundred Pointes of Good Husbandrie (1573).
Brigitte Webster, Eating with the Tudors: Food and Recipes (2023).
Alison Weir and S. Clarke, A Tudor Christmas (2018).
Hever Castle Blog, 12 Days of Christmas (2023).
