In Japan, shortcakes and stollen often appear during the holiday season, but it is a bit unusual to see mince pies on store shelves in Japan.
But to make them, almost every recipe you’ll find includes “mincemeat” as an ingredient, implying that you just need to buy a pack somewhere, but never in Japan. Not.
Of course, mince pies originally contained real minced meat, as opposed to the mince pies used today, which are made with chopped fruit and spices. Pies were a good way to preserve ground pork or mutton, along with spices, raisins, orange zest, and other fruits. Therefore, it is natural that modern recipes require homemade mincemeat to ripen for at least several days.