See You on the Other Side, Meatbags!

Mince Pie Fest 2023: Infinity Foods

Surprise #MincePieFest2023 update!

It's not Christmas without an Infinity Foods mince pie!

Firm but not crunchy pastry, with a lovely hint of sweetness, and a very rich, almost umami, tasty filling full of fruit and maybe a little twist of booze? #Vegan too, if that matters to you. I'm going to minus 1 because you need a small mortgage to get them, but I'll add 1 because I was early enough to catch them right out of the oven.

Delicious. 4 out of 5. #MincePieADay

Mince Pie Fest 2023: The Bastard Kipling

Oh, look who finally turned up, the Bastard Kipling himself.

These are big, chunky pies, with a nice firm pastry. Alas that same pastry is chalky and dry, and tastes mainly of nothing. The filling too is oddly tasteless, like it's made of teeny packing peanuts. The edible sort, obviously, that are basically unflavoured Wotsits. Don't try to eat the other ones, because they will do your insides no good whatsoever.

Anyway. 1.5 out of 5. #MincePieFest2023 #MincePieADay #mincetagram

Mince Pie Fest 2023: The Results!

I was going to do the final #MincePieFest2023 rankings today but then my good friend Casey reminded me that I hadn't done The Bastard Kipling yet BUT THEN I went out today and couldn't find The Bastard Kipling anywhere so we are back to the original plan.

So then, my top three mince pies of 2023 are:

#3 - Aldi Holly Lane and Asda Yummy, both good pies with 3.5 out of 5. Good effort and neither is super expensive.

#2 - Morrisons "The Best" and M&S Classic. Excellent pies at 4 out of 5, a whole 0.5 better for M&S since last year!

#1 - The best nationally available (probably) mince pie of 2023 is...

COOP! Beautiful 4.5 out of 5 pies, much better than a shop bought mince pie should be. Well done COOP that's the best three years in a row!

So, in fact, it was a top five then.

Thank you everyone for your comments and suggestions and well wishes and even the handful of indications of concern. I do this for you as much as for me. Honest.

If anyone wants to bung me a quid or two at https://ko-fi.com/thekelvingreen feel free, but let's be honest, I would have bought and eaten them anyway! #GetInMyBelly

#mincetagram #MincePieADay

Mince Pie Fest 2023: M&S Collection

These ARE the fancy ones, a pound more expensive, and... not as good.

The pastry is firm but a bit bland, and while there's plenty of tasty, hearty filling, it doesn't "zing". Well, no, it does in fact zing because the citrus overpowers everything else. Apparently these have Cognac in them, but I can't taste it past the overwhelming clementines.

(Great name for a band that. Probably early 90s grunge.)

Anyway... 2.5 out of 5. #MincePieADay #MincePieFest2023

Mince Pie Fest 2023: M&S Classic

These pies look a bit dry and anaemic, but this is clearly just clever misdirection as they are quite lovely! The pastry is a bit bland but has a good texture, just the right side of soft.

That filling though, my gosh. Rich, fruity, and packed full of (non boozy) flavour, all balanced, never overwhelming, and there's plenty of it. What a lovely surprise. 4 out of 5 and these aren't even the fancy ones! #MincePieADay #MincePieFest2023

Mince Pie Fest 2023: Morrisons the "Best"

I like the look of these pies.

They have a rough, home made, look to them and I'm fond of the semi-open star design. But how do they taste, I hear you type?

(I can't hear you type.)

Pretty ruddy good! The firmish pastry is just the right level of not-too-sweet, and while the filling starts off fruity but maybe a bit bland, in comes a big boozy wave of brandy and cider. It's only a slightly sickly aftertaste that detracts from what are lovely mince pies.

Not "the best" but not far off. 4 out of 5. #MincePieADay #MincePieFest2023

Mince Pie Fest 2023: Morrisons

In terms of texture, the disintegrating pastry on these is similar to that of the Waitrose Essential pies, although unlike those it does have a pleasant, understated, sweet taste.

Which is good because the "rich and fruity" filling is so anonymous that I only confirmed it existed at all when I took the third picture. Highly dubious pies, these. 2 out of 5, and that feels a little generous. #MincePieADay #MincePieFest2023

Mince Pie Fest 2023: Lidl Deluxe

Lidl Deluxe!

These have a firm (but not too firm!) pastry that's sweet (but not too sweet!) and a bit buttery (but not too buttery!). The filling has a strong citrus flavour but any potential bitterness is offset by a robust (but not too robust!) brandy hit. Not quite to my tastes, but not bad at all. 3 out of 5. #MincePieFest2023 #MincePieADay

Mince Pie Fest 2023: Favorina (Lidl)

Favorina, or Lidl in Disguise. That's a lot of sugar!

Another too soft pie, with almost a fluffy consistency, and far too sweet. There are plenty of strong flavours in the filling, but they tend towards the tangy citrus, giving the whole pie a bit of a sickly taste. The two combine to make a gummy and stodgy pie. Not great. 2 out of 5. #MincePieFest2023 #MincePieADay