Mince Pie Appreciation

My league table:

1. Konditor & Cook
   
2. Waitrose all butter
   

3. M&S all butter

4. Sainer's

Sainer's were a lot inferior to the rest. Filling was mushy, not that nice. The others I could happily eat many of. And I have.

Sainers fresh baked were down to 90p in our local. Perhaps they know they're not up to the competition and so having to undercut on price.
I'd quite like to see a mince pie price war provided it didn't impact on quality.

Getting to the business end of the season now.

Squeaky bum time, because I'm on 10-12 mincers a day, building up to a 24-deck on Christmas Day (with a short taper towards the end of this week - just ticking over on two a day).

This is what we live for. Many mince-brothers and pastry-sisters have fallen by the wayside. We salute them, and welcome even the casual mincer fan, even though the best of us have been living this life since late August.

When mincers bite hard, embrace the pain. It'll take a nation of millions to hold us back now. The final push is upon us. Keep the faith. Rise as one.

Only a few days left in the acceptable time frame to nosh as many mincers as possible.

Thinking of hitting Greggs and M&S tomorrow at lunch time...

Best thread on the forum. What are the chances I can still find some on the shelves in early January?

Last year my local Sainsbury price cleared all their mincers on NYE.

Anyone got a good Pastry receive for mince pies?

Also any easy ways to improve on the cheapo mince? I was wondering about a bit of fresh OJ and orange zest.

Yep, orange and same of lemon. Then a large shot of your fave spirit. Put some in the mince too.

Hnnnggh, need a mince pie now

Gregg's were selling til the second week of Jan last year iirc.

The pre-packed TtD sainsos ones have a Best Before of Mid March. Time to stockpile?

Anyone got a good Pastry receive for mince pies?

This one is pretty good.

As a casual mincer, my currant league table is looking like:

• Tesco Finest w/ Courvoisier
  
• Sis-in-law's home-made using Delia's mincemeat recipe (sorry sis!)
  
• Greggs
  
  

Not much wrong with any of them, but Greggs were a little disappointing compared to what I remember. Nice pastry, reasonable amount of filling but a little mushy. The Tesco's are proper boozy, lovely buttery pastry, and the filling has a clear mix of different fruity bits and textures. They go surprisingly well with creme fraiche.

My current box says May 2018. #buyallthepies

Surely this almost paves the way for uninterrupted all year round consumption. Only a few years ago, this was the stuff of a madmans dreams but now within reach, thanks to advances in pie farming, cultivation and storage.

What a time to be alive.

In some ways though, i like to treat them more like asparagus. Everything has its season and you therefore appreciate it more. Sure, i could get asparagus all year if i wanted to buy that Peruvian shit, but i don't and I'm a better person for it.

Cheers.

That looks really good, plus

Not sure I'll stretch to orange blossom water though.

have been working my way through a pack of these for the last week, while not a classic mince pie its a really intense, rich and ultimately, pleasurable experience. spendy though!

https://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Heston-Lemon--Spiced-Mince-Pies/350953011?from=shop

Greggs?! I'll be visiting Percy Ingle as soon as I return.

(But seriously, thanks for the suggestions).

@Sainsburys_Ed, I took a box of those (one of a variety of four boxes) in to work.
The smell when I cut through the cellophane was awesome.
Unfortunately, the festive elves I work with managed to get to them before I had a chance to snaffle one.
Might have to make another trip to Waitrose for a replacement four....

I reckon the Heston ones are the best I've had this year.

What's the current SP on Lidl Deluxe? Got a pack to investigate

@aggi
Tomorrow, the first day of my festive holibobs, is likely to include a visit to Waitrose as well as Konditori & Cook.
The purchase of mince pies.
For the purpose of.