Mince Pie Reviews

 

Overall rating: 6.5/10

Review: Whilst being one of the most impressive looking mince pies of the season, the Sainsbury’s flagship pie falls flat.

Probably a matter of form over function – and that probably works for them. Most people aren’t opening their 10th box of mince pies on November 9th…they go to their supermarket of choice and pick a fancy box. Don’t…well not if you shop at Sainsbury’s.

This pie isn’t terrible – but as this is their pricey offering it needs to be better. The filling is the main culprit. The after taste is almost chemical…it’s odd, I can’t put my finger on it but I don’t like it. The pastry is far too smooth and pale – verging on undercooked. Not one I’d be happy to see on a plate at Xmas.

 

Overall rating: 9/10

Review: This is a first for me – a cookie with mince pie flavour. And it’s good, really good.

The cookies are just what you’d want in consistency – firm enough to hold but nice and soft when you bite into them.

I know you’re only interested to hear about the taste though – and they do taste like mince pies. They’re full of sultanas and raisins which does help – and if I’m being honest you do get a little hint of them being ‘gingerbread-y’. But overall, in this alternate category, they’re the clear winner.

 

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Review: I’m not sure if it says more about this mince pie, or the Taste the Difference pie – but this 7.5/10 score is decent.

A nice pastry, maybe slightly soggy on the bottom, but forgivable at this price point. The mincemeat is quite standard but tasty – all the right things in the right place. Higher marks would’ve been achieved by a firmer mincemeat – slightly more filling and a sweeter pastry with no soggy bottom. A decent pie to bring out on Boxing Day.

 

 

Overall rating: 8/10

Review: Lidl is coming on strong in 2018 and their standard mince pie is a great little offering. So much value here too – it’s a pack of 12, not 6!

Nice shortcrust pasty on this one, sweet and just a nice bit of crumble. The mincemeat is really nice too – may be very slightly too ‘wet’ bit it has a lovely taste and plenty of fruit.

If you’re looking for a ‘volume’ pie – if you maybe have a load of visitors due over the Xmas period – then this is a great option. Bravo Lidl.

 

 

 

Overall rating: 9.5/10

Review: Blimey. This is a cracker.

Remember the Co-op 10/10 from 2017? This is the closest I’ve found in 2018. Surprised to find it at Lidl to be honest – the box hides the delights inside, that could be improved for next year TBH (but it doesn’t matter at all on the taste front).

They’ve got a lovely pastry – solid enough to hold but still a great crumble, nicely sweet too. This has been the downfall of so many this year so far.

Mincemeat is great as well – it’s full of spiced fruit – not too wet, not too dry – and nicely tinged with cognac that makes itself known, but doesn’t overpower. Overall it’s sweet and fruity with a near-perfect pastry. It’ll take some beating.

 

Overall rating: 4/10

Review: This probably sounded like a good idea in a product development meeting. It’s not. They’re neither a mince pie, nor salted caramel. It’s a horrible mix of the two that I would urge you to avoid. It’s easy to get carried away on the salted caramel bandwagon…Aldi need to get off. The pastry is terribly pale too…insult to injury.

 

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

Review: There must only be a few places in the UK that supply nationwide food retailers with mince pies – and I wonder if Aldi and Tesco have switched suppliers this year? This cognac laced, deep filled finest mince pie is really good – let down only slightly by pastry that could be a tiny bit crumblier – a touch on the soft side. Last year Aldi’s specially selected pie was one of the top picks – and Tesco have managed to leapfrog them with a very solid 8.5/10 for this pie. You can definitely get a nice hit of the VS cognac and the mincemeat tastes expensive too. It looks nice and festive and I’m sure guests would be suitably impressed if you served these up over the Christmas period. I expect these to be the pick of the Tesco pies this year.

 

 

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

Review: Tesco have a large range of pies out for 2018 and this lattice topped number caught my eye the other day. As you can see from the picture, the lattice top isn’t as structurally sound as a normal top – so it does crumble a bit more than you’d expect. However the pastry is tasty and not too claggy with a hint of sweetness. The mincemeat is probably not as firm as I’d like which makes the whole thing a little bit tricky to eat. Having said that the flavours from the mincemeat are all good – sultanas, currants and raisins in numbers too. This is a very enjoyable mince pie – but the overall structure and the mincemeat let it down a little. All in all it’s worth the money and will go down well at Christmas I’m sure!

 

Overall Rating: 6.5

Review: Aldi did quite well in 2017 with a range of good standard mince pies and fancy numbers too. Their mini pies were a big hit too.

Disappointingly something’s gone wrong this year. Their posh standard pie with courvoisier VS cognac isn’t a patch on last year. Overall the taste is far from unpleasant but there’s just too much soft pastry. In fact of the few I sampled, both had soggy bottoms. The pastry almost collapses as you handle it. You can get a hint of the cognac, but the mincemeat is a bit on the dry side which doesn’t help matters. Certainly wouldn’t be a disaster if you served these up on Christmas Day or Boxing Day, but you can get a nicer box (this year’s isn’t particularly good) and a nice pie for a similar price.

 

Overall Rating: 8/10

Review: I didn’t know this existed – but seeing as how much people know I like mince pies, a colleague brought this by my desk for me to try (I encourage this by the way!). I’ve had Joe&Sephs popcorn before and so it’s more the flavours that I’m reviewing here. The packet says “Popcorn with Caramel, Brandy, Fruit and Almonds” and so it’s not quite a mince pie taste or smell, but it’s certainly festive. The popcorn is quite dark so it has a ‘burnt’ look to it – but pop some in your mouth and it’s really nice. The caramel and fruit come through and you do get a hint of the brandy – so safe for kids too. Seems like the sort of thing you could pop in a bowl at a Christmas gathering and it would get a fair bit of interest – a conversation starter maybe. You can pick some up here if you want to try it > Joe&Sephs Gourmet Mince Pie Popcorn