Round two

After two days with no pastry and raisin based seasonal fare, I was very much in the mood for another taste test. It was very tempting to pop into the Marks next to the hospital to get some that I could count on. But the point of this evaluation is to try many different mince pies, not simply to eat lots and lots of the ones I really like. That can wait until after I have selected the winner.

In this spirit of adventurous consumerism, I wandered down Haverstock Hill and called in at the BP garage. Here I found a packet of Mr Kipling mince pies (8 for the price of 6, £1.89), nestled inbetween the antifreeze and flowers. The next stop was a bakery called “Euphorium”. The chap behind the counter said they did not sell mince pies. As I strode out in disgust he had the cheek to offer me an Eccles cake! Finally I came across Budgens, and bought their deep filled mince pies (6 for £1.29). I was slightly concerned that “Budgens” shares most of its letters with “budget”, but I suppose equally it could be named after a budgie.

Red seems to be the colour of choice for packaging this year. As it is every year.



Round 2 of the great mince pie evaluation included a new addition to the standardised testing procedure (previously (1) heat, (2) eat). The two packets were stowed in my bag, and carted around town for a few hours. This test was completely unintentional, but was certain to highlight any differences in the sturdiness of both packaging and pie. In this category the clear winner was Budgens. Most of the Mr Kiplings had all but disintegrated into crumbs and dust, which cascaded onto the worktop when I opened he packet. In contrast, Budgens were secured in a polythene wrapper within the box, and they had maintained pastry integrity.

To briefly revisit the subject of how to eat mince pies, it is important to remove them from the foil cases before putting in the oven. Failing to do this means that the pastry inside the case becomes a little soggy, and you will scald your fingers trying to remove the pie when it is ready. Here they are, having been extracted without too much digital damage.

Budgens on the left. Note the Mr Kipling looking worse for wear after its ride in my bag.

You get to make a wish with the first mince pie of the season that you eat. Unfortunately I was only told this about 20 pies down the line, so a wishless xmas is in store for me. Don’t forget to make your wish if you still can. On to the testing – starting with Budgens. First impression from my glamorous assistant was that it had “good pastry”, swiftly followed by “but it has a cheap feeling about it”. Combined with the distinct lack of an ornithological element, this suggested to me that the derivation of its name was indeed budget rather than budgie. I thought that the whole assemblage was a little flimsy and the lid came off (though it did have a nice star on top). The filling was quite tasty, but made the pastry soggy.

Next up was Mr Kipling. First impression from me: salty and chewy. Yes, salty. Although a savoury pie is one of my favourite foods, this is not what I expect from a mince pie. This was an immediate failure. Forcing myself to get past this initial let down, the filling was not bad; it tasted very raisiny. The pastry was too crumbly, which I already knew because of the disaster of the transit test. In conclusion Mr Kipling was not an exceedingly good mince pie.

Cheers!

So the winner is (grudgingly) Budgens. I recommend checking back here when I next try some good ones.