Mince Pie Appreciation

You do know that you're not obliged to buy them?
Remember kids, just say no

Mince pies are for life, not just for Christmas.

Not looking good for our all-year-rounders.

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"Aponia" (Ancient Greek: ἀπονία) means the absence of pain, and was regarded by the Epicureans to be the height of bodily pleasure. The Epicureans defined pleasure as the absence of pain (mental and physical), and hence pleasure can only increase until the point in which pain is absent.[1] Beyond this, pleasure cannot increase further, and indeed one cannot rationally seek bodily pleasure beyond the state of aponia.[2] For Epicurus, aponia was one of the static (katastematic) pleasures,[3] that is, a pleasure one has when there is no want or pain to be removed.[4] To achieve such a state, one has to experience kinetic pleasures, that is, a pleasure one has when want or pain is being removed.[4]

so if you don't know the pain of not having mince pies for 11 months of the year, you're unlikely to experience the true pleasure of them during their proper season.

That appears to be based upon some positivist thinking, that the spectrum of 'mince pies' only exists from zero, the absence of mince pies, to the blissful state of possessing mince pies.
However, all true mincers have experienced the enduring dismay of a substandard mince pie, a state of negativity, worse than being bereft of a mince pie.
For year round devotees, we need a balancing list of execrable brands. These can be invoked to revitalise a jaded/blissful palate that has gorged on 5* mince pies.

However, all true mincers have experienced the enduring dismay of a substandard mince pie, a state of negativity, worse than bereft of a mince pie.

This only serves to heighten the nirvana achieved when the one true mincer is found and eaten. One must work to get to that point, a #mincerlife needs to be earned...

#seasonalminers4lyfe

So let me see if I get this.

Aponia: no mince pies and a need for mince pies. Like when you're having a dry spell.

Kinetic pleasure: like being in ALDI or the Coop or baking your own; mince pie foreplay. Or the actual physical act of eating a pie?

Katastematic pleasure: crumbs on the lips post coital mincer heaven?

Yes.

Just start in December not September.

If you're not happy with the outcome of this we could do it again hoping for a different result?

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Mother Nature appears to think Christmas is early this year too.

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Hugely disappointing. Couldn’t taste salted caramel. Just overly sugary. I want pastry top and bottom. Keep your money in your pocket.

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Salted caramel mincers... How very hipster.

So who hated mince pies and why haven't they been barred from the thread?

Slow start this season?

Here's our office reviews so far

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I cracked when the missus brought some home last week: Morrisons in-store bakery deep fill, and they were just as good as I remembered them from last year. Solid 8/10; think they're £1.25/4-pack or two packs for £2? I'm going to try and stay strong until the end of the month, but am aware this seems unlikely...

I was thinking about them on the drive home last night. Something about getting fireworks night out the way and it being dark by 5pm. Might go pop my winter 18 cherry.

@umop3pisdn, is the sainsburys review for fresh baked or prepacked?

I had a Sainsbury's prepacked one the other day. It was fine.

Yeah, the fresh baked can be very stingy on the filling. More shallow end of the baby pool than deep fill. Wondered if they'd upped their game for this season.

Kicked off the season with a box of 6 M&S all butter.

Good benchmark IME; no complaints.

Prepacked.

Got individual tasting notes, but GDPR...

No, still light on fillings for the fresh bakes. Like Thrasher, I also succumbed early this weekend due to the missues buying some...

Didn't want to give into a mincer just yet so settled for Co Op's kind of 50/50 apple/mince pie with brandy butter cream topping instead of a pastry lid.

Blasphemy on all counts if being sold as a true mincer but thankfully it wasn't. Good way to whet my appetite for December's onslaught.

Sounds like the perfect mid November training pie.

Got individual tasting notes, but GDPR.

Best post on this thread

Smashed 1.5 packets to get some real practice in.