Image credit: Saga Magazine
It wouldn't be Christmas without a mince pie. They are great warm with brandy butter, cold with a cuppa or a perfect gift to leave out for Santa.
The best are delicious, made of a buttery pastry filled with a sweet mincemeat of fruit and spices, while the worst leave you with a mouth full of dry tasteless pastry, or nauseous from their sickly sweet jam-style filling.
You can choose from classic mince pies, luxury varieties boasting extra butter and alcohol or, more recently, ones including a variety of surprising flavour combinations.
The choice can be bewildering at what is already a busy time. So to help you decide which mince pies to buy, we gathered a testing panel to taste those on offer in the supermarkets along with other big brands, to find out which ones are the Christmas crackers, and which to avoid.
All our tasting was done in one sitting, with all the pies cold and without any cream or other accompaniment.
Pies were quartered to ensure all testers had the right balance of filling and pastry.
Heating does improve mince pies, but for consistency of testing we tested them straight out of the box.
Our testers were looking for a good amount of filling in each pie. Mincemeat should be mostly dried fruit, flavoured with spices and brandy, so our testers wanted to be able to taste this in their pie and also feel a texture of fruit in the mouth.
The balance between pastry and filling is important: too much pastry and you won't taste the mincemeat, plus you could end up with a mouthful of tasteless powder that is difficult to swallow.
Some pies had all-butter pastry, some were "butter-enriched" and some contained no butter at all. But whatever the blend, we were searching for a pastry with taste which was properly cooked.
Aldi won in all three categories, in classic, luxury and flavoured mince pies. Our testers were unanimous on all the winners. Overall they felt that you don't need to spend extra on the luxury version, when the classic winner (the Aldi Specially Selected All Butter Mince Pie) would work for any occasion.
So what about the pies to avoid? Our testers said "bah humbug" to the Co-op Merry Mince Pies, while among the luxury mince pies, the Morrison's The Best Mince Pies proved anything but. Both were ruined by poor pastry, which seemed undercooked, but somehow dry at the same time.
The loser in our flavoured category was the Aldi Millionaire's Crumble Mince Pies. These left our testers feeling really quite poorly done by. They earned a unanimous thumbs down.
RRP: £2.29 (pack of 6)
Everyone liked the look of these pies, which had a pretty design and some colour to the pastry.
The pies were well filled and the filling had texture. The mincemeat was fruity, not too sweet and had the right hint of spice and bitterness. Our testers described the taste as 'zingy' and with a 'hint of marmalade'.
The pastry was buttery and well cooked, there was a bit too much for some, but it didn't ruin the pie.
If you are looking for a good quality, traditional mince pie, then this is it. It's one to eat alone or share with friends and family - we doubted Santa would get a look in.
All our testers said they would go out and buy these, even in preference to the 'luxury' mince pies.
RRP: £2.35 (pack of six)
The pastry held together well and the description is spot on - they are very well filled.
The pies smelt nice of spice and fruit, they weren't too sweet and you could taste the cinnamon and nutmeg. The filling was one of the highest scorers in our tasting panel.
The pastry had a nice buttery taste, but it lost points for being dry.
Some of our testers had previously dismissed Mr Kipling for being old-fashioned, but they were surprised at how good these were and everyone agreed they deserved the runner-up spot.
(pack of six)
These pies are vegan-friendly, something our testers didn't know when they tried them.
The filling was really popular, it was fruity with a hint of bitterness and had a marmalade tang.
The pastry was pale and there was too much of it, but it had a hint of nuttiness everyone enjoyed.
They did lose some points for their visual appeal. But they were joint second for taste and our testers agreed they would eat these again.
RRP: £1.70 (pack of six)
Our testers liked the filling in these pies. They were fruity, but not too sweet, and the citrus peel taste balanced the flavour. There wasn't as much spice as others, though.
Although the pies are made from a butter-enriched shortcrust pastry, no one could taste the butter and the pastry was a bit too dry and crumbly, which lost this one some marks.
RRP: £2.75 (pack of six)
All the testers felt that the pastry dominated these pies, there was simply too much for the filling and it didn't taste buttery.
The filling tasted of fruit and sugar, but no one could taste any spices. Everyone agreed they were too sweet for their tastes and were disappointing.
RRP: £1.25 (pack of six)
These divided opinion. Some of the testers really liked the filling, saying you could taste the peel, cinnamon and spice, but others didn't warm to the taste of them. Everyone agreed they weren't too sweet.
They needed more filling and the shortcrust pastry didn't have a lot of taste. But they were more popular than the pies from M&S, Iceland and the Co-op. If you are on a budget or bulk buying then these are a pound cheaper per box than our winning pies, so a great option.
RRP: £1.45 (pack of six)
These had a home-made look, as some were a bit lopsided. They held together well, but none of our testers enjoyed the filling.
"It's like jam!" said one. They couldn't feel any texture of fruit and all felt there wasn't enough filling for the amount of pastry.
The pastry had no real taste. Iceland recommends serving them warm, which we didn't do in our taste test, but which could only improve them.
RRP: £2.75 (pack of 6)
These were a surprise disappointment. They were crumbly when cut, but all our testers could taste was sugar. There wasn't a lot of fruit texture or taste to the filling.
The description says they have an all-butter shortcrust pastry, but our testers said they were dry and not at all buttery.
RRP: £1.35 (pack of six)
These smelt of fruit and spice and tasted of it too. Testers could even taste the peel in the mincemeat.
However these pies were badly let down by the pastry. There was too much of it and it was undercooked. There was no taste to the pastry and testers struggled to swallow these without a drink.
A real shame, as they had one of the nicest fillings.
How to warm your mince pies in an air fryer
"There is nothing better than warm mince pies at Christmas," says expert Sam Milner
"If you are reheating mince pies in the air fryer, then follow the golden rule of reheating at 160c/320f – as you don’t want to be cooking the mince pies again or drying them out.
"Then air fry them for about 4 minutes. You can add an extra minute if your air fryer is a little slow."
Sam Milner, is the author of The Complete Air Fryer Cooking Guide: Times and Temperatures (RRP: £4.99 White Lion Publishing)
RRP: £2.49 (pack of two)
These are really big - more like a tart than a pie. Testers were divided over whether these were too big for one person, but everyone agreed that this is one where you need a plate - you can't get away with eating it in one hand.
The description boasts that the mincemeat of vine and citrus fruits is infused with cognac, ruby port and dry cider and testers said the alcohol came through but wasn't overpowering. They also liked the juicy taste of the mincemeat and its texture - you could feel the fruit in it. However although there was spice, there could have been more.
There was a bit too much pastry overall, but the taste of the mincemeat still came through.
Everyone agreed that these were mince pies they would eat again.
RRP: £4 (pack of six)
Testers liked these pies, but some felt there should have been more filling in them - especially considering the price.
The taste was nice, not too sweet, the fruit came through and there was spice as well.
The box says the pastry is made with wheat flour and "wildfarmed" flour. It had a delicious smell, and was buttery in taste and crisp to eat.
A deserving runner-up.
RRP: £4 (pack of six)
These mince pies boast a few taste awards, but our testers were not blown away by the filling.
"It's jammy, without any texture," said one and others agreed. The filling tasted of sugar, fruit and alcohol, but with no spice to help cut the sweetness.
Everyone liked the pastry, which had a darker buttery taste to it than all the others and a nice crunch.
However the sugary pastry and the sweet filling combined proved too much for all our tasters.
RRP: £3 (Pack of six)
There was a lot of filling in these pies and testers appreciated the taste of it too.
"Oooh marmalade," one said. And they were right. A nice amount of bitterness which worked well.
But these pies were let down by the dry powdery pastry, which overpowered the pie. It was a shame when the filling was so nice.
RRP: £2.70 per pie
We included a coffee shop chain pie in this test to see how it fares against the supermarket brands.
It's a lot bigger than most of those tasted and looked nice.
Testers said they could taste the spices in this. Cinnamon and cloves came through in the taste and there were whole sultanas in the filling.
But there was a lot of pastry which didn't have much taste. Testers said the overall impression was just of sugar with some spice.
Expensive (a single pie costs more than many of the packs of six tested) but a middle-of-the-road taste.
RRP: £3 (pack of six)
These stuck in their cases a bit and were very crumbly and fell apart as our tasters picked them up.
They were fruited and sweet, but no one could taste the spice.
The pastry was dry and didn't have much taste. A bit disappointing and testers felt even though the pastry was also below par in the classic Sainsbury's pie, they were better than these.
RRP: £1.75 (Pack of four)
These didn't smell of anything which was a surprise.
The filling contained fruit but testers found it too sweet with no spice.
The pastry was crisp, but didn't have any butter taste, despite the promise on the box. A real shame after the strong performance of the brand's classic pie.
RRP: £2.75 (pack of six)
These pies looked home-made, which was popular.
The filling was sweet, but the spice also came through. However, despite the promise on the package, the balance of filling to pastry was wrong. There was too much pastry, which was undercooked and without a hint of the butter that it contained.
Our testers agreed these had the worst pastry out of all the pies tested.
This year we have been spared the divisiveness of Heston Blumenthal's Waitrose creations - cheese mince pie anyone?
However there are plenty of new contenders vying for the crown of most unusual mince pie. The best still left our testers with mixed emotions - are they any better than a good traditional mince pie? While the worst - well, let's just not go there ever again.
RRP: £2.59 (box of six)
These are tarts rather than pies and had a lot more crunch to the pastry than a standard pie which are testers liked. They also had a lovely colour and looked nice, with almonds sprinkled over the top.
They are flavoured with Jamaican rum and that's what you can smell and taste, in fact that's probably the only thing you can really taste. There was a hint of spice, but no fruit came through.
However despite this, they were still popular and our panel suggested these would be great warmed through with cream or crème fraîche on top.
They were our unanimous winners in this section.
RRP: £3.29 (pack of six)
Another pack of mince tarts rather than pies. Testers appreciated the crunch of the pastry with these ones too.
The almond flavour overwhelmed these too, but testers weren't as forgiving of the amaretto as they were of the rum. They also noted, they couldn't taste any fruit or spice in the mix.
However these still managed to claim the runner-up spot as they had a good balance of filling and pastry.
RRP: £3.50 (pack of four)
At first bite our testers could taste the fruit and spice in these. The filling contains dried vine fruits and citrus peel and those come through.
Everyone also enjoyed the buttery crumble on top, but combined with a thick pastry it was just too much and turned them into bland pies that were hard to swallow.
RRP: £3 (pack of four)
These tarts boast a festive box and were with the mince pies on the shelves on Sainsburys, but that is the closest they get to being a mince pie.
Our tasters were quite surprised by these. There was spice, the pastry wasn't bad, but there wasn't any fruit, just sugar and toffee.
These are for people who don't like mince pies. For everyone else, skip these and buy yourself a bag of Werther's Originals, they are cheaper and will last longer.
RRP: £2.59 (pack of six)
Another pack of mince tarts rather than pies, but these ones look very different to all the others. They are topped with a chocolate crumble and include caramel alongside the traditional mincemeat.
Our testers were unimpressed. "Dry", "where's the fruit?" "Not even that sweet".
"No", that's all everyone concluded.
A big thanks to our hosts at Goytre Hall for hosting our tasting session.
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