Pottle... a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck!
 

:)
yum!

A pottle is a measurement term meaning 1.9 liters or half gallon. Like our bushel or peck I would think?

Mince meat pie is referring to how the meat is prepared... Sally help me on this... in uk and like countries ground beef is called minced beef.

I tell my students how cool it is that almost every country has a version of a meat pie... or meat patty. Even my former sil from Japan made a dish that was a pastry with meat in the middle.

My dh... who is very picky about food :(.. makes me prepare a different meal for each part of the holiday season... Turkey for Thanksgiving, pork (cuban) for Christmas eve, this year we had an Italian dinner, Prime rib for New Years Eve, and of course black eye peas and the fixens for New Years Day!!

:D Hee hee! We used to have bushels and pecks too - but I've never even HEARD of a pottle....:D

And yes, ground beef IS minced beef - but we also have ground steak, which is ground much more finely. I love ground steak best.

Plus (please all gasp in amazement!) I have never, ever eaten a mince pie, or know anyone that has, that has ANY MEAT IN IT WHATSOEVER!!! :eek: Truly, ours are all fruit (sultanas, candied peel, cherries etc) within an all-butter shortcrust pastry case.

I don't think we're very Downton Abbey in Surrey....:D x

Mince meat pie is a misnomer. There is no meat at all - only fruit :)

Oops! I should have known Sally would correct that :D :D

I love food traditions and also I love study words.. like why we call a pig (saxton) in the field and pork (norman) on the table:rolleyes: The word casserole comes from the french for baking dish...etc

Pottle is an ole norman/saxton word from pot. So I am guessing it is a pot (or here we would say a bowl) of apples??


Now that you said that about mince... I am confused. I have seen jars of mince on market shelves that is what you said. Is mince pie and mince meat pie the same???

btw... I do love rum cake which is a holiday cake here. I made red velvet cup cakes this year ...oooohhh yum!

Oooooh, I could eat a nice slice of Norman right now...with apple sauce, of course! ;) :D

You're right - the 'mincemeat' (why they had to throw in the 'meat' bit and confuse everyone is beyond me...:D) in jars is the fruit variety. It's usually got masses of sugar and often alcohol in it, for preservative reasons, of course ;)

People do make mince meat pie here....it's like a tart with a base as well as a top. I must admit, I've never made one though....however, Cornish Pasties are another matter altogether....:D x

Sorry, meant to add - your cup cakes sound amazing....that's worth continuing the celebrations for....!!!

Ahhh that's right you teach... Soo umm what is beef suet??? That recipe I actually found somewhere here online that day... I have a family recipe at home that my grandmother had to make for my grandfather since he loved it and it had no meat in it. And please forgive me I know this is going to sound hateful and mean... But the only thing worse than the thought of me having to eat mince meat pie is watching my grandfather eat it chewing with his mouth open and talking at the same time... Just typing that gave me chills :eek:

My opinions on food never count because I am one of those strange very picky eaters that I can not even handle my food touching each other on the plate :p

I found a London transplant over here that opened up a shop. He sells loads of different pasties and other lovely imported items to expats and wannabe's like me :D:D

His shop is called 4 and 20.....cute, eh? ;) (he doesn't carry lamb cubes though :mad:)
4 and 20 Pasty Company

Beef suet is just raw beef fat. They actually use it a lot in bird feeders to hold the seeds together :sidesplt:

I am looking at going to England in 2014 but I am pretty sure I would eat up starving or living off cookies :(

OMG I would come back requiring a seatbelt extender and a second seat on the plane :eek: :hide2: :eek: :hide2:

Ok I feel stupid now... I actually hang those birdseed and fruit blocks in my yard for the birds :p

Oh wow that's BRILLIANT!! :D But the clotted cream's from Devon, not Cornwall....:(

You probably know this - but the original Cornish Pasties were made for the miners going down the old Cornish tin mines. The reason it's 'crimped' round the edge was that was the handle, it was thrown away after the filling was eaten.

The original ones had a savoury filling at one end (usually diced beef, carrots, turnip and potatoes) and the other end was sweet (maybe apples, pears or raspberries with sugar etc) so it was a complete meal for the men in their hard, very dirty work.

There you go....bet you really wanted to know all that!! :D x

:eek: :eek: :eek: But our food's AMAZING!!!

You'll just have to let me know whereabouts you're going, and I'll find THE most wonderful places for you to eat....:D x

I did know that story and thought it was BRILLIANT!! That's called a woman's ingenuity lol

I missed the bit about the clotted cream.... Strange mistake to make on their part!!

Mom used to make her own mincemeat pies. We had a meat grinder that attached to the countertop. She would use suet and other "stuff", I never did find her recipe after she died. :( But I know she put in raisins and currents. And a pie crust to die for. She was an awesome baker. Her mom was chief cook at some Lord's estate over in England. But she was an Irish lass;)

MOM would in October end start her fruit cakes. She would make at least four cakes. Under penalty of death we were not to help ourselves to a piece...lol lol
She basted those cakes weekly, and re-wrapped them up. I think she mainly used brandy, or what-ever else was handy!

I can only take a bit of mincemeat or fruit cake they are so very rich, and I never did develop the family sweet tooth. I am more of a cook and bread maker.

One time, in my early thirties I "decided" enough was enough, I set aside one whole weekend to try to teach myself how to make pies. I got six different recipes, and Mom's version of a recipe....she never measured anything...went by eye and feel. Sigh. Well I think I use a cup n a half, and maybe 1/3 + cup of lard, a bit of salt, then you do this then that till it looks like this..... Back to the wkend I bought 10 lbs of All purpose flour. I went through all ten pounds of flour. I tried to make pie crusts till the cows came home. They were too flakey, or to dense, some I couldn't even roll out. I tried chilling the dough different amounts of time; I tried lard, and shortening, and butter, and margarine. I Officially GAVE up making pies......
And my excuse is my hands are too HOT. Actually warm hands are great for bread making, not so much for pie making. You want cool/cold hands for that.