The world’s largest mince pie factory is located in Barnsley, which is the in English country of Yorkshire. The factory produces 720 pies a minute, rolling off three production lines. When all three lines are in operation, as they are in the run-up to Christmas, the factory produces some 2.3 million pies are every 24 hours. Such is the British addiction to the sweet treat.
Mince pies are pastry based, filled with a mixture of dried fruits and spices called “mincemeat” (although there is no meat based product in the pie). In some parts of the world the pies are called mincemeat pies or fruit mince pies. Originally the pies did contain meat, comprising of a mixture of minced meat, suet, a range of fruit, and spices such as cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. These dated back to the English Civil War (in the 17th century). Prepared prior to Christmas, the addition of spices was a way of preserving rancid meat.
By the time of the reformation, the pies had become embedded as an English custom. For example, on December, 25 1662, Samuel Pepys described his Christmas feast in his famous diary: “A mess of brave plum-porridge and a roasted pullet for dinner, and I sent for a mince pie abroad, my wife not being well to make any herself yet.”
The pie became popular during the Victorian era and the use of meat was dropped, although suet remains in some pies. Today the mince pie remains a popular Christmas treat.
The world’s largest producer of mince pies has been profiled by The Guardian and it is owned by a company called Premier Foods. The factory runs its production lines on a 24-hour basis, employing a permanent workforce of 850 workers, with numbers rising by a further 300 people during the run-up to Christmas. 7,000 tonnes of sultanas, raisins and currants are shipped in each year to fill the pies.
The production process is streamlined and around 29 grams of mincemeat goes into each pie. The pies are branded according the retailer and distributed around the U.K., with a small proportion going for export.
