The Origin of 2 Holiday Foods

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My mom once helped a friend make some mince meat pies. She got really sick and was confined for a couple of weeks. I have only tried mincemeat once. It wasn't too bad but with the memory of how sick my mom got I don't have a desire to try it again. But, I was curious as to its origin. It was a medieval spiced meat pie. It contained beef or mutton, suet, dried fruits and hot spices like nutmeg and cloves. The earlier versions were large and could feed a crowd. Over the years the meat disappeared leaving the rich, sweet mincemeat we have today. What about eggnog? The medieval English equivalent was known as 'posset'. A warm milk curdled with wine and spiced and sweetened. This became a treat for the wealthy and aristocratic. Eggs and dairy were more plentiful in the America colonies and eggnog became a holiday indulgence.