Classy crusts and fab fillings: Who’s got mince pie magnificence?

Supermarkets were put to the test, but which one made mincemeat of the opposition?

If there’s one food item that’s nearly as Marmite as Marmite itself, it’s the gentle and unassuming mince pie. Love ’em or loathe ’em, there’s no questioning their right to be part of the Yuletide table; whether or not you partake is up to you.

We did. From a total of five supermarkets, here’s the lowdown on where to purchase a box of the crusty little blighters. Apologies to those we didn’t try, but Christmas is calorific enough as it is.

Sainsbury’s

The flavour’s pulsating almost before the first bite, and then, as if by magic, it calms itself down. This is probably down to the pastry overwhelming the filling slightly, but it’s probably the best casing out of the five, so that’s certainly something worth shouting about. There’s work to be done next year, especially in making the brandy more centre stage, but decent overall.

7/10

M&S

A frustrating start, as the pies are virtually welded to the foil cases, so you almost end up breaking the thing. It doesn’t get much better from there, as the mince has a taste akin to slightly bad apples. Perhaps with flavours as diverse as cranberries and cognac, there’s too much going on. There’s certainly no richness, which you don’t want too much of, but certainly not near absence. Even Colin the Caterpillar‘s disappointed.

5/10

Morrisons

Does the name say it all? Not quite. With the star-shaped lid, you’d think there’d be room for more filling, bit that seems to all gather in the middle and even then there’s not much. Once you do get to the mince part there’s a nice subtle richness, but the best must do better next year.

6/10

Lidl

A game of two halves. The casing is slightly hard and dry, whereas the filling is quite moist and fairly flavoursome. Is this a good mix? It might be if the lid wasn’t noticeably wider in diameter than the rest. As it is, this is rendered a somewhat bland affair and it’s almost as if they were left in the oven a little too long. Best avoided.

3/10

Asda

From the first bite, which finds just the right pastry texture, it’s a good ten seconds later that the orange rind kicks in, apparently a feat only achievable with the finest wine. At times there’s a tad too much pastry outweighing the mince, but that’s a minor criticism of the overall taste. Just the right amount of richness means it’s almost unique, but a slightly better balance would be near perfection.

9/10

So congratulations to Asda for taking the crown of premier pie, but perhaps you disagree with our verdict. If so, feel free to post your Christmassy comments – no humbug now.