Custom PC - UK (2020-02)

REVIEWS / MINCE PIES

A doublestardesignonthelidseemslike

an odd choice for a Christmas product.

There’s the star of Bethlehem, but then

what’s the other one? Was it a tribute to the

flag of Panama? Sadly the pie itself was

unremarkable. There’s a strange,

almost a savoury flavour to

the pastry and the filling is

disappointingly bland too.

You can get better pies for

this money elsewhere.

M&S’additionofpuffpastrytothemincepie
formulaworkedforsomeofourpanel.Thepies
tasteokay,andthepuffpastrywithitscrustof
sugaris quitetasty(it’shardtogowrongwith
bigchunksofsugar).However,thelackoffilling
madegettingthroughthepie
a lotofwork,andit endedup
feelinglikethemincemeatand
thepuffpastrywouldhavebeen
happierelsewhere.

TheCo-Opstandardmincepieis a buttery

yet bland pie. Again, its star-topped lid

makes it look like the standard Morrisons

and Sainsbury’s pies, but it tastes different.

It’s still one of several thoroughly ordinary

efforts in our test, but its pastry has

notably the most buttery taste

of these pies. If you’re a big fan

of unimpressive pies, but you

want your unimpressive pie to

be buttery, this is what you want.

Thesebafflingheavyweightsbarelyqualifyas

mincepies,butthat’snotnecessarilybad.Witha

spicy,cinnamon-heavyflavour(youcanbarely

tastethelemon)anda reallytastycrumbly

topping,ratherthana traditionallid,thesehuge

odditieswerea massivehitwith

somejudges,butnotwithothers.

They’reexpensive,butthey’re

amazingif youlovecinnamon

andyou’refeelingadventurous.

Thispiebroughta deep,crunchypastrycaseto

the table, which went down better with some

judges than others. Opinion on the filling was

more unifying, but unfortunately, because

nobody was very impressed by it. These pies

look like they’re going to be deep and satisfying,

but the filling’s consistency was

off, being gooey and almost

runny, and it looks weirdly

shiny too. Nobody signs up

for that with a mince pie.

Thesnowflakemotifonthelidofthispieis a

goodstarttowardsmakinga pieChristmassy,

buttheMrKiplingpiestartedgoingoff-piste

earlywithanunevenpastrytexture,aswell

asa slightlychemicallytastetothefilling.

There’salsoanaftertaste

thatoverstayeda welcome

thatit didn’treallyhavein

thefirstplace.Definitelynot

exceedinglygood.

WAITROSE BUTTER

ENRICHED /£1 .90 for six

M&S PUFF PASTRY

MINCE PIES/£2.50 for six

COOP MINCE PIES

/£1for six

HESTONFROM WAITROSE

SPICED MINCE PIES WITH

LEMON/£3 for four

COOP TRULY

IRRESISTIBLE BUTTER

ENRICHED /£1 for two

MR KIPLING/£1.75 for six

5/10 4/10

8/10

3/10

5/10 4/10

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