Which is the best mince pie?

I really like eating mince pies. It is a particular delight to sink my teeth into that first festive snack, usually in early October every year. In a way my infatuation with the mince pie is a little peculiar. I am not normally put out if there is no pudding, I never decry the lack of a dessert – but without mince pies at this time of year I would be most aggrieved.

There is a wide, and quite frankly bewildering array of mince pies that the discerning British consumer has to choose from. From deep fill to puff pastry, from iced to boozy, we are faced with some pretty tricky decisions in our mince pie purchasing. I can see only one fair and scientific method for making this choice – a taste test.

So that is precisely my intention for this blog. I shall in a selfless gesture to benefit festive food lovers around the country taste all the types of mince pies available from shops. Or at least all those available from shops near Brixton. Hopefully this rigorous and methodical devouring will reveal the ultimate mince pie. Which information I shall share with the web, and spread the love of mince pies far and wide.

I thought long and hard about the optimum format of the evaluation, so as to minimise bias, random error, and inter-person variation. Then I bought two packets of mince pies and ate one from each. So henceforth the great mince pie evaluation shall take the form of a series of ‘head to head’ contests. After trying as many as I can, I shall have a series of knockout rounds of the winners of each heat. And maybe include the highest scoring losers. Such details as the number of heats, knockout rounds and criteria for choosing entrant shall be pretty much random.

Round the first: “M&S classic butter rich” vs. “Waitrose all butter”

With no pre-evaluation seeding I started off with this clash between two brands that like to be known for quality, tastiness, and being exclusive. Although exclusivity is usually down to a larger price tag, the M&S offering was on offer at £2 for 12, and Waitrose at £1.29 for 6. But this evaluation isn’t about mercenary matters; if you care about how much you pay for your mince pies you are missing the point. I suggest that anyone of a parsimonious disposition stop reading this directly and eat raisins on a digestive biscuit instead.

The packets of M&S and Waitrose

There are several methods for consumption of the mince pie. I have seen them ripped out of the packet and devoured almost in one bite. I have seen the more demur diner, eating delicately, as if showing any more gusto would offend then sanctity of the mince pie. I have seen them eaten upside down with cream on top using a spoon. My preferred method is to place the pie on a baking tray and heat in the oven for 5 minutes. This length of time is enough to render the pastry crunchy and delectable, but not so much that the insides become hotter than the sun. You may choose to eat them otherwise, if so you are wrong.

Anyway, back to the taste-off. Here is a picture of the two fresh out of the oven, M&S on the right. You will note immediately that the Waitrose is an apologeticly anaemic shade of beige, whereas the M&S has a hearty glow of colour at the edges, and an attractive incision on the top.

Fresh out of the oven

First down the hatch was the Waitrose. My first impression was that despite its unprepossessing pallid complexion, the pastry was lovely. I do like good pastry. The mincemeat was very boozy; I detected brandy amongst a cornucopia of fruits. And in fact it was the constellation of fruity flavours which was the undoing of the pie. I found it too sweet. It was also a very dense filling, almost verging on dry, which added to the cloying taste of all that sweet fruit (which turned out to be cherry).

Next up for my gnashers was the M&S. This had a delightfully crunchy shortcrust pastry. I really enjoyed the extra crisp texture, accentuated by the granulated sugar on top which added even more snap. Inside there was an altogether more moist mixture than Waitrose. One might even be tempted to describe it as saucy (a benefit of the heating is that it really awakes the filling of a good mince pie). This had a fresh, tangy flavour, with a hint of citrus amongst the raisins. Delicious.

Deep in contemplation

So to the verdict. This was an easy decision, and I awarded the round to M&S. Which is reassuring because I had already eaten a fair few of these pies prior to the contest. Everyone likes to back the winner!

I do hope that you check back in for the next installment of the great mince pie evaluation. Until then, I hope that you keep your food festive!