Tesco - Christmas - Deep Filled Mince Pies

Tesco have never really impressed with their mince pie range in previous years - they have trotted along with what feels like a "follow the pack" mentality. I hope this year is different and we see a stand out pie from them.

The Facts

These seem to be no different to previous years. In fact, I fear it may be the same box as last year. I feel that there has been little effort put into their design, even the description just seems lackluster. It says these are "Buttery shortcrust pastry filled with rich fruity mincemeat". Again, these are about average in terms of nutrition with 255 calories, 19.8g of sugar and 9.4g of fat.

First Impressions

These mince pies looks like they have been made in a hurry. The lids on all of the pies appear to have been placed on a little too far to one side, resulting in it being a little lop sided. I've tried to show the side more exposed in the picture, but I don't think this has come out too well. In actual fact, shortly after I had taken pictures, I noticed that as a result of being placed lop sided, the filling had started to seep out from under the lid on a couple of the other pies. As these pies are machine made, you would think someone would have seen they are coming out wonky and re-calibrated it. This is another sign that Tesco are not very interested in making a quality mince pie.

There is a great amount of sugar on top and again some of it has ended up in the box rather than on the mince pie. The pie appears well cooked on top and looks like it would crumble nicely.

The Bite

Oh Dear! The structural integrity of these pies goes out the window as soon as you take a bite. It was breaking into pieces the moment I bit into it. I managed to hold it together with both my hands the moment I realised I was in trouble. The picture above actually makes it look better than it is as the foil is holding it together. Had I not done the above, I would have been taking a picture of a mince pie that looked like it had been dropped on the table from a great height.

Despite the eating issues, the pastry was not bad. It was not too sweet despite the large amount of sugar on top. I think Tesco are stretching the truth a bit calling these buttery, as with only 4% in there, you can barely taste it. It does seem to be just the right quantity though.

The mincemeat was not that great. It is mostly a very sweet purée with a few sultanas. The sweetness can be tasted even through the pastry. I could not tell if this was under-filled as the whole pie broke apart in my hand after biting, but after eating it does seem to be the right balance of mincemeat to pastry.

Overall

This, unfortunately, tastes like a budget mince pie. It has a lot of potential but Tesco appear to have put in the very minimum needed to call it a mince pie. It reminds me of my days at school and similar to what my teachers told my parents! Like myself, Tesco haven't changed very much over the years. It feels like they are just making this mince pie because everyone expects them to.
I think this is a pie for a person that has never eaten a mince pie and is a bit fussy about what they eat and what it might taste like. They can rest assured that while the ingredients list has "exotic" things like coriander, ginger and nutmeg, you can taste none of it.

"As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again."

2.3 / 5

If you have tried this mince pie and would like to share your thoughts, let us know in the comments below.