Mince Pie Reviews

 

Overall rating: 9/10

Price per pie: 33p

Review: ASDA have a good volume of mince pies to choose from this year and these sloe gin ones catch the eye. Fancy purple box does the job, but what are they like?

Well they’re very, very nice indeed. I could end this review there to be honest, but I won’t – I know you like the details.

The mincemeat should be the star of the show here, and it certainly shines. Lovely and rich, sweet, spiced and a nice buzz of sloe gin too. Really needs to be tasted because it’s a cracker.

The pastry is good too – it’s sweet and buttery but not overly. Maybe just *slightly* too soft on the bottom, but I’m being picky now…

Not all of ASDA’s 2020 mince pies are as good, but they have a beauty on their hands here.

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Overall rating: 8/10

Price per pie: 33p

Review: A first showing for the Morrisons The Best mince pie range. Who knows what to expect? Let’s hope for “the best” and crack open a box…

First impressions are good, the box looks great and the top of the pies are really festive. Good start.

Before I’ve even bitten into any pasty I’ve spotted a potential issue. That pastry looks thick. However it’s not actually as bad as it looks. It has a pleasant biscuity taste to it. Phew.

It is a bit crumbly though, which will cause some structural issues for those that like a one handed eat – see photo evidence below.

Next, the mincemeat. It’s good too – and despite the near pointless promise of “vine” fruits (I think you’d be hard pressed to make them any other way), the addition of brandy, cider and spices really shines through. Some of the tastiest mincemeat of the year so far.

A nice surprise then from a slightly pricier pie. An 8/10 is fair I think, a slightly tidier and thinner pastry would’ve been nice I think. Good effort though Morrisons, I think this will be close to the top this year.

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Overall rating: 8/10

Price per pie: 50p

Review: Any fans of the bourbon-based Old Fashioned cocktail? I hope so, because Co-op have plonked all those flavours into a mince pie.

These fall firmly into the fancy category – I mean just look at the little beauties, like a work of art.

Quite a shallow pie but that adds to the fancieness somehow. The pastry is biscuity and sweet and the mincemeat is really rich thanks to a good glug of bourbon and orange flavour.

The star of the show is the little bit of buttercream and the caramelised orange on top. If you get a mouthful with all the elements this is a top quality mince pie. Really lovely. But, there’s only a small amount of the buttecream and orange which means you only get maybe one ‘perfect’ bite.

Very impressive and I think a genuinely unique mince pie flavour too.

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Overall rating: 7/10

Price per pie: 13p

Review: Aldi’s most standard of their enourmous mince pie range has faired averagely over the last few years. They’re cheap and pretty cheerful.

The class of 2020 are pretty good. A nice looking mince pie with a snowflake on top, and a nice sprinkle of sugar too.

The pie is maybe a *little* crumbly once bitten but not to the point of disaster. And one you’ve bitten in, you’re met with a lovely mincemeat. Nice and sweet with some whole currants and spices.

The pastry is sweet, but with a bottom spiralling towards something that could be described as “soggy”.

For me this is a very solid mince pie. So if, and its a big if, you were expecting a good number of people round at Xmas then this would be a good one to buy in bulk. And at 15p per pie they’re very easy on the pocket too. Bonus.

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Overall rating: 5/10

Price per pie: 25p

Review: A recommendation from a fellow Twitter user (none other than the “Carmat King“, Ash Young), I had to get a box of these and try them out. They’re gluten free, wheat free, milk free and vegan. Let’s go.

Outside of the many things they’re “free from”, these include maple syrup and maple crumble which sounds pretty nice – quite a festive flavour. However, I’m really not getting much maple which is a shame – I’m guessing maple syrup is vegan, gluten free, wheat free and milk free, so why not put loads in?

The pastry is very crisp and I think has quite a granular texture which tends to stay on the palate for a while after you’ve eaten them. I also don’t think they look particularly appealing which is a shame.

The mincemeat is nice though, pretty juicy and fruity. Which means the main element of the pie is ok, but quite standard not really delivering on the promised maple flavours.

So the mix of pastry issues and lack of flavour mean we arrive at a 5/10 score for this one. Sorry.

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Overall rating: 2/10

Price per pie: 35p

Review: These very tall pies look suspiciously like the bakery pies ASDA and Co-op have had great success with over the last few years (a raft of 9s and 10s no less). Have Morrisons managed to copy a winning formula?

In short, no. Very disappointed to be writing that, as those nice deep bakery pies are usually *so* good.

These pies are billed as “all butter” and thats certainly what they deliver. It’s all I can taste, butter. I know that probably doesn’t sound that bad, but when it’s literally the only taste – that’s bad mince pieing.

The mincemeat tastes of nothing. What. A. Shame. It’s a bit if a disaster all round really. The pastry is pale and crumbles really easily – as you can tell from the photo. It looks like I’ve hit it with a brick.

I belive all the bakery pies are baked in house, and so to some extent we’re at the mercy of the staff in the bakery. These pies *might* be better tomorrow, the day after – or – at another Morrisons altogether.

But, do you want to risk it?

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Overall rating: 3/10

Price per pie: 25p

Review: The box hasn’t changed since last year, and the Good Housekeeping Institute approval sticker is still proudly displayed. Last time I rated these 7/10 and thought they were fairly standard but ok.

Oh dear. Things have taken a turn for the worst.

These mince pies could accurately be described as miserable to look at. No sugar on top, the pastry looks haphazard – quite unusual from the pie experts. I mean, just look at the state of them…

But maybe the taste will save them? Hmm, not much better there I’m afraid. The pastry is dry and dense, leaving a fairly miserable taste in tbe mouth. The mincemeat is so nondescript that it can’t make up for the poor pastry.

I’m shocked that Mr Kipling have put such a substandard 3/10 pie in the exact same box as last year – when the pie scored 7/10. Taken a cheaper route this year maybe? Anyway, steer clear folks – you can get better for less. Lyons and Aldi both have better standard mince pies.

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Overall Rating: 5/10

Price per pie: 31p

Review: The Co-op bakery mince pies have faired well in previous years – but those are the deep filled ones. These flatter ones don’t inspire tonnes of confidence – not sure how the ratio of pastry to filling will work?

And immediately it’s gone a bit wrong. The pastry overpowers the whole thing. It’s got a nice taste to it, and a generous sprinkle of sugar on top – but the ratio is way out. It’s such a shallow mince pie that it never really had a chance…bless it.

The mincemeat is reasonable but nothing to write home about – nothing special advertised though either. I think 5/10 is fair enough – it doesn’t taste too far wrong, it’s just too dry.

Still looking forward to the deep filled Co-op bakery mince pies though

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Overall rating: 8/10

Price per pie: 17p

Review: A first showing for Premier Foods’ ‘Lyons Cakes’ brand mince pies on Mince Pie Reviews. It’s a standard pie – no promises of the fancy stuff. No idea what to expect…

I’m pleasantly surprised. The box is a merry red and green and gives us a sneak peek at what the pie looks like. A ridge top affair with a sugar sprinkle, no star and no visible mincemeat. The box told me no lies about the pies – they look good too, neat and with little mincemeat bubble around the top of the pastry.

They’re around average on the bite-o-meter, not dry and crumbly but also not too soggy – very nice. The sugar on top gives a kick of sweetness and then the mincemeat follows up.

Similar to Co-op’s 2020 standard mince pie, this is a pie filled well. No gaping cavity where mincemeat should be – which probably helps keep the pastry from drying out too. You get a pleasant sweet and fruity flavour from the mincemeat, which for 17p per pie from a standard offering is well worth entertaining.

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Overall rating: 8/10

Price per pie: 17p

Review: A standard mince pie from Co-op….we’ve been here before. The last mince pie I reviewed in 2019 was Co-op’s standard mince pie. I needn’t remind regular readers what happened there, but for the new or uninitiated – it was an *abomination*.

Surely this year they’ve sorted it out, heeded the warnings – created something edible for a start?

Phew. You can breath, it’s fine. In fact it’s better than fine, much much better. This is a great standard mince pie.

The box doesn’t promise any extravagantly named fruits or rich liquors, and whilst that’s clear upon tasting – this pie does deliver on flavour and quality of bake.

The pastry has a nice taste to it and is both a good texture and an acceptable thickness. Maybe the tiniest bit on the soft side, but not so to cause any structural issues.

The mincemeat is tasty and is surely the star of this show. The fill certainly helps with that – it’s right to the top, full to the brim with mincemeat. It’s not that anonymous brown sludge you get in some standard mince pies either. It’s sweet tasty – even sans fancy fruits & liquors.

All considered, I’m astounded this has followed the shocking 0/10 mince pie from 2019, it’s really head and shoulders above. This is sure to be a quality addition to the table during the festive period – where or not we get to share them with anyone is yet to be seen…

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