Robertson's Traditional Mincemeat, 411 g

Mincemeat contains no meat, whatever the name suggests. It is a dark, spiced preserve of apples, dried vine fruits and candied peel, and the name survives from medieval English cooking, when chopped meat really did go into the mixture. What is in the jar today reads much closer to a chunky, spirit-warmed conserve.

Robertson's has been making it since 1891, and this 411 g jar is the classic British supermarket standard - the one most households in Britain open in December rather than simmering their own. Its main job is mince pies: rounds of shortcrust pressed into a bun tin, a spoonful in each, pastry lids on top, baked until golden and dusted with icing sugar.

It has other uses through the winter. Spoon it over baked apples, swirl it through an apple crumble, fold it into a bread and butter pudding, or use it to fill thumbprint cookies and coffee cake.