mincepie

Mince Pie Reviews – November League Table Update

The Mince Pie

Figured it was worth updating the league table and because some people do miss it (it’s linked seperately either in the hamburger menu on a phone or up top on desktop).

Miles away at the top is the Fortnum & Mason pies, but it’s looking like a strong list.

For reference, the columns in order are “Year of Review, Packaging, Presentation, Filling, Taste Test and Overall Score”. The table is ordered by Overall Score, with Taste Test as a tie breaker (then Presentation then Filling and finally Packaging if all of those are equal).

No. Name YR Pa Pr Fi TT OS
1 Fortnum & Mason Traditional 2017 8 9 9 20 46
2 Tesco Finest All Butter 2016 8 8 7 18 41
2 M&S Star 2016 6 10 8 17 41
4 Aldi Specially Selected 2016 4 9 8 19 40
5 Iceland Luxury 2016 6 6 9 19 40
6 Aldi Sloe Gin Mince Tarts 2017 6 7 7 19 39
7 Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference All Butter 2017 7 8 8 16 39
8 Aldi Specially Selected 2017 4 9 6 19 38
9 Iceland Luxury 2017 6 6 9 17 38
10 Coop Irresistable Luxury 2016 8 7 7 16 38
11 Lime Tree Pantry Mince Pies 2017 4 9 8 16 37
12 M&S Christmas All Butter 2016 6 5 8 17 36
13 Greggs Sweet 2016 6 6 7 17 36
14 Spar Luxury All Butter 2016 8 8 7 12 35
15 Sainsbury’s Mini Ecclefechan and Mincemeat Tarts 2017 6 9 8 10 33
16 Tesco Mince Pies 2016 9 2 4 17 32
17 Waitrose All Butter 2016 5 5 7 14 31
18 Sainsbury’s Iced Topped 2017 9 5 4 12 30
19 Sainsbury’s Deep Filled 2017 9 4 5 10 28
20 Coop Bakery Shortcrust 2016 5 1 4 10 20
21 Coop Puff Pastry 2016 6 6 1 5 18
22 Heston Spiced with Lemon 2016 3 9 3 1 16

 

REVIEW: Aldi Sloe Gin Mince Tarts

The Mince Pie1 Comment

Well, this is new…and also, I realise I said I’m taking a mince pie reviewing break but, these were seen and must be had.

Let’s get on with the show.

3.jpg

Packaging
Very much like the other Aldi mince pies these, similar styling of box and branding. It’s classy enough, but doesn’t shout Christmas to me quite enough. There is a nice window to the pies and these are unusual looking pies.

Worth noting, the box is quite slim, so these are going to be flatter pies than usual.

The note to serve warm or cold is interesting me…I shall give them a warm go over the weekend, but as all of these pies are reviewed cold that’ll be merely a footnote.

6/10 – Nothing wrong here, window is good but just not Christmassy enough

Presentation
Worth remembering, these mince ‘tarts’ (not pies apparently) are retailing for £2.29 a box of six. That’s 38p a pie, sorry tart, ish. Now, put in context, everything else at Aldi seems to cost 99p according to my Mum, so this is some optimistic fayre here (fayre isn’t apparently in the dictionary on my Mac and it’s underlined in red, vaguely irritating. In fact, so irritating I diverted for 15 minutes or so looking it up. It’s in the dictionary, it seemed to irritate a Telegraph journalist a couple of years ago, it’s old fashioned, only used in Britain, if any Americans read this, apart from having a real hard time with sweet mincemeat generally, this word will throw them a bit more…).

I digress…

6

Anyway…they’re plastic bagged. That’s because the window in the box is an actual opening to the box. This means, to keep these things fresh for a few days and to stop them falling out while walking with your arms doing windmills holding the box, don’t lose this bag!

Once out of the bag…

8.jpg

So, I’m not sure what to say here…are they messed up or is this what is supposed to happen with fancy tarts from budget supermarkets?

The almonds are liberally chucked on with nay a care in the world, but most concerning, what’s happened to the pattern on the middle row? Weirdly, I can’t tell if it’s deliberate variance considering both of the middle ones look like this and the end ones are kind of consistent in the hatching they have on top. And is it me…do they look a bit like Yorkshire puddings?

The hatching on the ones on the left looks very good and neat, the right side much less so.

12.jpg

There are no trays to be seen here, so you’ll need a plate unless you are rebellious like me. It’s a very even bake all of the way around, but the slight leakage on the right here is not ideal.

All in though…I kind of like the look, they are appealing to me and that’s really important.

7/10 – Probably way too high considering the problems…but I like them even so!

Filling
So, as I said before, these pies tarts are quite large, but flat. This is never a good sign for including lots of filling. Let’s take a look:

14.jpg

Is that a lot?

I tell you what, it’s got plenty of fruity chunks within and all of the way around the pie tart it goes right to the edge on this level.

All in, I’m willing to bet there’s at least as much here, if not more so, than the regular supermarket pies around.

It’s got a lovely smell too, the sloe gin aroma in the filling really comes through.

7/10 – It’s actually good and more than it might appear considering the flat nature of these.

Taste Test
As usual, it’s all down to taste really.

9

Let’s break it down a bit.

The pastry is good. It’s very much in the “cakey” nature of the Fortnum & Mason pies really, and worthy of the ‘tart’ title over pie. It’s very solid and holds together well without the tray. When approaching the first bite, it’s hard to know if there is going to be some crunch or it’s soft and it’s surprising therefore, that it is lovely and soft yet solid enough to not fall apart. This is some skilled bake work.

The almonds really add a nice little flavour extra, but aren’t strictly needed in my view.

When you get into the filling, it first hits you with the aroma and then the sweet fruity flavour of sloe gin is distinctly there. It’s got a marginal gin-like sensation as you eat, and the fruity flavour really makes it work. The spices and come across really well and it makes the overall taste here massively satisfying. These are top drawer pies tarts and are a great secondary mince-based treat alongside whatever regular pies you go for.

19/20 – Outstanding, just maybe could do with a bigger gin type hit!

Overall
No getting away from it, I really like these pies and are the best so far to come out of Aldi. There are a few issues though, and the presentation could probably use a bit of work, but I’m massively impressed.

39/40

10.jpg

REVIEW: Fortnum and Mason Traditional Mince Pies

The Mince Pie

So…I ummed and I arrred and eventually, decided to go for it. What am I talking about? Well, buying these bad boys is what…bought from the Fortnum and Mason shop at St Pancras Station as I passed by on my travels…the price, a cool £10.95.

That’s £1.83 per pie!

I mean, there’s premium.

There’s luxury.

There’s posh.

And then…there is this:

114.jpg

The single most frustrating packaging to photograph ever….look, you can see my hands taking the photo…anyway…let’s get on with the review.

Packaging
The box is heavy, super heavy, 500g. For comparison, the Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference pies come in at 370g and the regular Sainsbury’s pies at 355g so there is some real extra here with these.

The packaging is red, reflective and really shiny, hence my hands on the photo above.

There is a lovely looking window, with the branding nicely displayed, showing off the pies, it’s a really attractive presentation of the pies.

1 (1)

The rest of the packaging has a colourful green pattern design, not sure what it is, but it kind of looks Christmassy. It’s maybe a bit of holly and horns and things. Who knows, I think it could do with being a bit more obviously Christmassy and maybe then it’d be perfect.

8/10 – Pretty lovely generally, but just not that Christmassy!

Presentation
So, you open the packaging and slide out the tray. And it’s not just any tray.

53-e1508185531260.jpg

First thing you see is more of the reflective stuff, this time it’s gold coloured.

And then…it’s made of cardboard, none of that plastic tray action here. I figured I’d get a different angle on it.

9

It honestly feels really special and looks different too. It’s much more interesting than any other box of pies I’ve had for a long time.

On the pies themselves, they are emblazoned with an “F&M” logo. It’s a little bit self-aggrandising I guess, but it’s still quite attractive. I’ve said before, the lack of “christmassyness” does seem to increase alongside the price. The cheaper the pie, the more of the normal Christmas thing you get.

The quality of the bake here is outstanding though as you can see. Extremely even and well presented. Look closely and you can see copious amounts of sugar on top here and just look how deep that pie is. You can see where the extra weight in the box comes from, there is a lot more here than regular pies.

12

9/10 – Not getting 10 simply because of the me me me thing of adding their logo to the top.

Filling
So, getting to the real meat of the matter now, what’s the filling like.

Well, the ingredients list is something to behold and it’s all on show when you get into this monster.

142.jpg

It might not look chock full, but it is a bit mis-leading on this picture. This is very high quality stuff here, massive chunks of fruit, but it’s not the look, it’s not the amount, it’s all about the smell. It smells like sweet apples, brandy, and cinnamon. Genuinely astonishing!

But you know what, if there is a complaint, there could be a smidgen more, although when you taste these, you probably won’t think so.

9/10 – Almost perfect, just needed a tiny bit extra to fill that air gap!

Taste Test
Well so far, this review could really have been any more complimentary could it? What is the taste test going to bring…

8

Let’s just say, these are the single greatest mince pie I’ve ever had. Full stop, hands down they are incredible.

The F&M website describes them like this:

There is nothing quite like a traditional mince pie, warm from the oven and eaten on a crisp, winter’s afternoon. To make ours especially good, we put quite a lot of butter in the pastry, and we make each pie extra-deep, to hold generous helpings of mincemeat. And, of course, we use our own mincemeat, made with plenty of brandy. Serve warm with a spoonful of Fortnum’s Cognac Brandy Butter or Rum Butter eased gently under the lid.

Everything about that paragraph is entirely accurate.

Let’s start with the smell. When you slide them out of the box it hits you, as described above, that sweet alcoholic flavour. It’s an amazing smell that engages your taste buds before you even taste them.

Then you bite into the pastry and it’s genuinely unlike anything you’ve had before. It’s buttery, flakey and very slightly “cakey”. It’s also very sweet, all of that sugar is right there, available to taste.

Then you tuck into the filling and the warmth of the brandy really comes through, there is cider, brandy and cognac in here, with fruits and spices. Oh my, it’s wonderful.

So, where does that leave us?

Perfection is where!

20/20 – Does not get better than this.

Overall
Right, so these are clearly not for everyone. The cost is pretty eye-watering when you consider some of the alternatives. Even Harrods are only asking £8.95 for their mince pies, so these are genuinely decadent.

Luckily, I don’t actually consider the price in these reviews, if I did there would probably be a negative multiplier in there. They are by far the nicest mince pies I’ve ever had.

Should you buy them?

If you can afford to go down the pub and spend eleven quid on a pint of ale and a white wine for the wife, and you think that’s worth it, then why can’t these be worth it too?

It’s Christmas, treat yourself!

46/50 – I will be buying more in December for certain.

2017 UPDATED REVIEW: Iceland Luxury Mince Pies

The Mince Pie

2017 Update
I find it interesting re-visting things from last year. You have certain expectations. Your views have changed, moulded over another year. These Iceland Mince Pies were a 19/20 in the taste test last year as you can see below, and the main thing that let them down was the size of the pie in comparison to the size of the tray and box. I wonder what’s changed…

So, off Mum went, back to Iceland and picked these up for me.

First of all…the packaging is identical. 100% identical to last year. Even the tray is the same inside, and the Mince Pies look the same too, same pretty design and yes, still sitting very deep in the over-sized tray. I’m not mad about it…just disappointed.

On to taste, and I’m not sure if there is a change now.

The pastry is nice and the filling is the same recipe, but this time it felt like marginally too much pastry. Like, because of the size of the pie and the thickness of the pastry, there wasn’t enough room for the lush filling. I asked for second opinions around the house, all the same, very nice mince pie, a touch too much pastry over filling.

On that basis, I’ve got no alternative but to knock the taste test score down to 17/20. It’s not that these are bad, 17/20 is still a hugely respectable taste score, and right up there with the best pies. Maybe though, if they filled the pie more, made them bigger (and charged an extra 50p for the privilege) we’d be back up to the best taste of all.

2017 Overall score: 38/50

2016 Original Review
So, my mum went to Iceland (that’s the shop, not the country for those at the back)…came back with these very interesting looking mince pies. I’ve heard great things about these from the Internet in general, so my turn to have a go.

1-19

Packaging
Let’s be honest here, they’ve not exactly gone to town on the packaging.

It’s a fairly thick box (promising sign). Nice pictures of the pies on the front, no window notably. The only nod to the party season is the flickery lights in the background, but genuinely, it’s pretty basic stuff here and not a lot to say.

And I know it’s being picky…but why show 5 mince pies on the front for a box of 6…not rocket science is it.

6/10 – An inauspicious start for Iceland here, fairly dull and unimaginative.

Presentation
Box open, the tray is gold…so what you might say, well these are £1.50 for 6 so a gold tray is a statement. Sliding out the tray, and suddenly all becomes clear about the £1.50 for 6 pricing.

2-14

They look pretty good from this angle.

How about this one:

3-12

Ever feel like you’re getting half a pie?

I think this is a pretty slack trick from Iceland to be honest. I feel just a little bit swizzed by this.

Now to be honest, they are very very pretty looking. they remind me a hell of a lot of the M&S Star Mince Pies (which were in an appropriately sized box and tray by the way).

4-10

You can see on close inspection, a nice layer of icing sugar, even bake and they look like a genuine high quality, premium mince pie.

How to mark these though? Just taking the pie on it’s own, you’d definitely go very high, but the swizzle factor here is high too. The thickness of the box and the lack of window really working to make you not realise until later the size differential. I’ll take a middle ground on it though…my feelings are clear on this.

6/10 – I could have got really grumpy about the swizzle in box size versus pie, very naughty from Iceland but the pies, they’re very pretty and a GOLD TRAY!

Filling
At least this bit is obviously not an attempt to trick.

The pies are full to the top with the filling, which looks very fruity and thick. Not much a smell from it so not expecting much booziness.

5-8

9/10 – Considering the size, to be expected, but it looks good here.

Taste Test
How many ways can I find to say, this is the bit that really counts. Well, I guess that’s another way…

Immediately apparent is the quality of the pastry. It tastes a little sweet, but very buttery. It’s not the sticky gloop butter flavour though, this is a melt in your mouth style of munch. It’s not crispy by any means though, so horses for courses, this is soft and luxurious.

The filling tastes very fruity, this not really a hint of booze involved. It’s quite nutty and thick and for the first time in a long time, finishing it all left a “shall we have another one?” open question (for the record, yes, we did).

The key word is balance, and this has a perfect one.

It can’t be over-stated, these are outstandingly nice tasting mince pies.

19/20 – Yes, genuinely lovely in every way.

Overall Score
Although tempting to apply a divide by 2 on the overall score, based on the level of people they use to advertise their shops, I’m better than that.

These are a superb mince pie, but the con job Iceland are pulling with the packaging leaves a nasty taste.

40/50

Mince Pie Review: Coop Irresistible All-Butter Luxury Mince Pies

The Mince Pie1 Comment

Here it is then…the King Daddy of last year for us gets the honour of being the very first Mince Pie review of the year for the very first year of the blog. This is a public service I’m doing here, I’m eating all the pies, so you don’t have too…

So, let’s crack on then..

img_0950

fullsizeoutput_375bPackaging
The packaging is pretty stylish really, the kind of thing I like. Not very traditional, but it
looks like properly baked, expensive stuff. There is a nice window into the pies, always a good sign of a quality product, the picture shows sugar everywhere which accurately reflects the sugar that’ll be everywhere when you eat these. It’s not super Christmassy though and you could easily pretend this packaging was for blackberry pies.

8/10 – High quality but marked down for a lack of Christmassyness!

Presentation
So, these pies are pretty.

img_0956

The top decoration of these pies is a 3 leaf piece of holly. That, and quite clearly a whole packet of sugar. It looks nice, and the pie top sits on top of the edges, again a good sign of a premium pie.

img_0959

Side view shows a little bit of overflow on the right there, so not perfectly constructed. Bog standard silver tray.

7/10 – It’s attractive, but nothing remarkable. The tons of sugar gives a pretty finish.

Filling
Well, it’s a pretty full pie this one, check it out:

img_0962

Not only is it full, it’s crumbly. I couldn’t cut it in half very neatly I’m afraid.

The filling does look pretty mushy though, lacking a lot in the chunks of fruit stakes. Still, it’s substantial, which it ought to be for the price I guess.

7/10 – Good amount of filling, but looks mushy, lacking many pieces of visible fruit.

Taste Test
As usual. The pie is washed down with a good mug of Twinings Strong Breakfast Tea, which is important as this can influence the end. Some pies can leave a sticky mouth, too much butter, or be crumbly, dry etc. It’s important to stay consistent, so that’s how I’ll wash them all down.

So, what’s this pie like? The best description is boozy.

First bite into the pie, the pastry is crumbly and very very buttery. The amount of sugar on top gets everywhere, but I think it’s important to help the pastry. It’s so buttery, if you aren’t washing it down with a brew, you are going to end up with a pretty gooey mouth. Taste wise though, the pastry is good when it’s all put together.

The filling is very boozy, tastes like there is a really good amount of brandy in there. It definitely lacks in the fruity department though, being more like a slightly fruity, alcoholic flavoured butter pie.

Any yet, it’s wonderfully nice. Nothing over-powering, nothing undercooked, nice and flavourful, it’s really hard to genuinely fault the flavour mix. For that reason, I’m going with a good score here too.

16/20 – Outstandingly tasty in many ways, but not quite enough fruit and just a bit butter heavy.

Final Score
So, you may have noticed, the score is out of 50…so the final score for these pies is:

(drumroll….)

38 out of 50

Overall, not bad and tastes very similar to last year. Which suggests I’m tight with my scoring, but I’m hopeful we’ll beat these this year.

This is the first of many reviews, so when the next few go up, I’ll put-up the league table too and you’ll be able to compare them. Have to stress, this is my personal opinion only, so your mileage may vary as they say.