Stumbling across these mince pies was quite a treat. With Jamie Oliver being a household name you would think these mince pies would be everywhere, or more specifically, in your local Sainsbury's. These elusive mince pies were discovered in Boots!
The Facts
Like the description on the box, it certainly isn't Christmas without mince pies, and it also isn't Christmas if you're not watching Jamie Oliver tell you how to drown a turkey in olive oil on television. Discovering these hidden away in Boots was very surprising. I had heard nothing of the existence of these mince pies until a colleague noticed them while shopping for Christmas presents.
As much of the front of the box is yet another window to view the mince pies, the description is written on the back. Jamie says "I love a good mince pie! We've used the crumbliest pastry and filled it with moist mincemeat made from juicy vine fruits and some cranberries to lighten it up. But what makes these pies really special is the sweet mulled wine-flavoured dusting. It's different, but it's definitely still Christmas." More strange sugar dusting on mince pies!
These little pies have 115.7 calories, 12.3g of sugar, 3.64g of fat and a box containing 9 of these will cost you £1.99 at Boots.
First Impressions
While the box is nicely made the individual pies appear to be made in a rush. The lids on most are not straight and the pink dusting seems to be sprinkled over just a couple of the pies. They also look mostly pastry which is never a good sign.
Also, pink pastry? I hardly think that is really a Christmas colour. It's a good thing there is little of it.
The Bite
I was pleasantly surprised by these, not only was the pastry not too thick but it was also quite tasty, crumbly and not overly sweet.
The mincemeat is usually the downfall for many of the mini mince pies as they tend to purée it to fit enough of it in. I'm happy to say that there's none of that here. You can taste whole vine fruits and I even tasted a little cranberry which got me a bit excited to say the least. The addition of the cranberry adds to the already citrus rich flavour, giving the tangy taste an even stronger kick. It was moist and not over powering with sweetness. From the picture above, it really is just a mini mince pie.
As I do not remember if I have ever tasted mulled wine, the pink sugar dusting is wasted on me. I don't think there was enough of it to be able to taste it anyway. The one pie that had appeared to bear the brunt of the sprinkles tasted the same. I even had a lick of just the sprinkles to see what mulled wine tasted like, and in this case, it just tasted of sugar. So again, this is another gimmick.
I stupidly decided to microwave the mince pie so see what It would be like warm. I considered sticking the oven on, but I feel bad enough turning the oven on for a couple of regular mince pies, I was not about to do it for a single mini one! Microwaving this pie was not good, it made it lose it's good crumbly texture entirely and became a mush.
Overall
I could eat a few of these quite easily, they are very moreish. The pastry is just the right amount. I like the tangy kick that these give. They are small enough for that kick to not last or become so tangy that you pull a face akin to when you eat something very sour. I'm still very confused as to why you need to go to Boots to get them and not Sainsbury's, where the rest of Jamie's stuff is sold. Regardless, I say these are actually really "pucker" mini mince pies and I shall be definitely going out to buy another box. Just, please, don't microwave them.
"Yippy-ki-yay, mince pie"
4.1 / 5
If you've found mince pies in strange places, let me know in the comments below.
The Facts
Like the description on the box, it certainly isn't Christmas without mince pies, and it also isn't Christmas if you're not watching Jamie Oliver tell you how to drown a turkey in olive oil on television. Discovering these hidden away in Boots was very surprising. I had heard nothing of the existence of these mince pies until a colleague noticed them while shopping for Christmas presents.
As much of the front of the box is yet another window to view the mince pies, the description is written on the back. Jamie says "I love a good mince pie! We've used the crumbliest pastry and filled it with moist mincemeat made from juicy vine fruits and some cranberries to lighten it up. But what makes these pies really special is the sweet mulled wine-flavoured dusting. It's different, but it's definitely still Christmas." More strange sugar dusting on mince pies!
These little pies have 115.7 calories, 12.3g of sugar, 3.64g of fat and a box containing 9 of these will cost you £1.99 at Boots.
First Impressions
While the box is nicely made the individual pies appear to be made in a rush. The lids on most are not straight and the pink dusting seems to be sprinkled over just a couple of the pies. They also look mostly pastry which is never a good sign.
Also, pink pastry? I hardly think that is really a Christmas colour. It's a good thing there is little of it.
The Bite
I was pleasantly surprised by these, not only was the pastry not too thick but it was also quite tasty, crumbly and not overly sweet.
The mincemeat is usually the downfall for many of the mini mince pies as they tend to purée it to fit enough of it in. I'm happy to say that there's none of that here. You can taste whole vine fruits and I even tasted a little cranberry which got me a bit excited to say the least. The addition of the cranberry adds to the already citrus rich flavour, giving the tangy taste an even stronger kick. It was moist and not over powering with sweetness. From the picture above, it really is just a mini mince pie.
As I do not remember if I have ever tasted mulled wine, the pink sugar dusting is wasted on me. I don't think there was enough of it to be able to taste it anyway. The one pie that had appeared to bear the brunt of the sprinkles tasted the same. I even had a lick of just the sprinkles to see what mulled wine tasted like, and in this case, it just tasted of sugar. So again, this is another gimmick.
I stupidly decided to microwave the mince pie so see what It would be like warm. I considered sticking the oven on, but I feel bad enough turning the oven on for a couple of regular mince pies, I was not about to do it for a single mini one! Microwaving this pie was not good, it made it lose it's good crumbly texture entirely and became a mush.
Overall
I could eat a few of these quite easily, they are very moreish. The pastry is just the right amount. I like the tangy kick that these give. They are small enough for that kick to not last or become so tangy that you pull a face akin to when you eat something very sour. I'm still very confused as to why you need to go to Boots to get them and not Sainsbury's, where the rest of Jamie's stuff is sold. Regardless, I say these are actually really "pucker" mini mince pies and I shall be definitely going out to buy another box. Just, please, don't microwave them.
"Yippy-ki-yay, mince pie"
4.1 / 5
If you've found mince pies in strange places, let me know in the comments below.
I also found the mulled wine sugar to be a gimmick adding not much flavour except sugar. Moreover, the sugar was very grainy and slightly harsh on the mouth.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the filling was deliciously fruity but a bit more would have done the job of combating the grainy texture of the dusting.