The Real Pie Company Luxury Boozy Mince Pie Review

Real Pie Company Mince Pie Review

There are mince pies. And then there are small meals in the form of a mince pie! For these are certainly no miniature mouthfuls but a real giant on your plate - the Real Pie Company’s luxury boozy mince pies!

Delivered by post in a lovely festive box and all arriving in near perfect condition, I was impressed by the size and the favour of these luxury mince pies. As can be seen in the comparison photo below, these pies dwarf your typical supermarket mince pie and are clearly homemade products. While this does mean the condition is not quite as polished as a factory made standard mince pie, it is a lot more lovingly made and the pastry tasted delicious and buttery.

Real Pie Company v Tesco Mince Pies

One of my concerns with these larger mince pies was whether the filling:pastry ratio would work in such a big mince pie, but they certainly got this pretty much spot on. The pastry was quite thick and covered in sugar (a little too much sugar personally, but at least you can brush that off the top before eating!) but held in the content well. My main critique of these pies is that the pastry is incredibly crumbly, which meant you certainly lost a significant amount of pastry crumbs when eating. It also made cutting them in half (as some friends weren’t quite ready to tackle a whole one due to their size) quite a challenge!

There was sNOw stopping the delivery!

However the filling was moist and a nice balance of fruits, with a clear boozy edge to them. I also happily enjoyed eating the pastry on its own when hovering up the bits that had broken off. While a couple of the pies weren’t quite crammed to the crust as I expected from the Real Pie Company (as that is their motto), most of them were full to the brim and I certainly didn’t finish any of the ones I’d tried feeling I was short changed in any way! Certainly not something to eat straight after your Christmas Day roast, but a lovely mince pie and one that will get your visitors talking!

Real Pie Company Mince Pie Review

At £19.95 for 10 of these mince pies, they are certainly not the cheapest option out there, and that does hold back the score a bit, but factoring in the size I can’t say I’m feeling too out of pocket paying that for such large, unique mince pies. Yet again, the Real Pie Company have set a high bar for pie making and take number 4 spot in our top mince pies (though number 1 for giant mince pies!!)

The Real Pie Company Luxury Boozy Mince Pie
Score: 5.82/7
[Colour 6, Capacity 6, Consistency 6.25, Condition 5.5, Chewiness 6.75, Cheapness 4, Content 6.25]

RAS

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Pieminister Mince Pie Ice Cream Pie Review

Mince Pie Ice Cream Pie Review

Yes, you read that right! An ice cream pie! And not just that, it has the word “pie” in the title twice, so that’s got to be a good thing, right?!

Welcome to part two of my Christmas venture to try the new Christmas 2017 additions to the Pieminister menu. Having visited the relatively new Birmingham store on Waterloo Street last week to try their new “The Cracker” Turkey and Ham pie, I could hardly resist a pudding pie that had “pie” in the title twice, could I?! Turns out not, as before I knew it the Mince Pie Ice Cream Pie with Gingerbread biscuit and rum sauce landed on my table, beautifully decorated with a crisp golden star as a lid.

What particularly persuaded me to go for one was the fact I’d never had an ice cream pie before! Plenty of pies WITH ice cream, but not one with ice cream in it (although Pierateer TJP had tried to make a Neapolitan ice cream pie a few years back, to mixed success). With a more biscuit like pastry to this dessert pie, which was very different to the traditional flaky Pieminister pastry I have come to know and love on their savoury pies, it did take some getting used to! And the thought of having ice cream in the pie and some of the mince outside the pie was a slight quirk! However before I go on I must say I did very much enjoy the pie and my first ice cream pie adventure.


However for the pie-hard Pierate fans in the room, I am now going to have to get technical for a minute and comment about the make-up of the dessert laid in front of me. For if I am being true to our 8 year old definition of a true pie, the filling should be fully encased in pastry, which this dessert wasn’t. For one there was a star lid on a circular side/base pastry, so that immediately would mean there were gaps in full encasement. But also there was a second even more noticeable issue of the mince content of the pie spilling out of the pastry encasement onto the plate, as well as raising the height of the star lid.

Pieminister Mince Pie Ice Cream Pie Review

Therefore, as lovely as this mince pie ice cream pie tasted, it won’t get top marks on our website for lack of a full encasement, not that this would stop me or anyone else enjoying them while they are still on the menu! The capacity was decent, the ice cream very nice and the mince fruity and flavoursome. I certainly struggled to finish it following a pie for dinner too, but as a pie soldier I managed to eat it all in the end! Very filling and very nice.

The only other thing to comment on is the price, which at £5 is quite pricy for a mince pie with ice cream (even if, as mentioned, the mince and ice cream are not in the locations you’d normally expect!) While I’d happily eat another one, I’d be slightly put off by the price, considering a mince pie can be bought for about 25p each in most supermarkets!

Still, this was a beautiful and quirky creation, looks brilliant and certainly added to my festive enjoyment of Christmas at Pieminister!

Pieminister Mince Pie Ice Cream Pie
Score: 5.29/7
[Colour 6, Capacity 5, Consistency 6, Condition 5.5, Chewiness 5.5, Cheapness 3.5, Content 5.5]
RAS

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Pieminister's Mince Pie Ice Cream Pie

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas on www.pierate.co.uk as we've been cracking out the tinsel and tucking into some Christmas Pies (not that the later of those will be of any sur-pies to you!) However it has been noted that a lot of our Christmas pie reviews - primarily Turkey Pies and Mince Pies - are from yonder year and particularly from December 2013, which was when we filmed our now infamous Christmas Pie Video! So while we go about eating and rating some more Christmas pies in the coming few weeks to make up for lost time, why not enjoy our '12 pies of Christmas' video based loosely on the old classic, 'The 12 Days of Christmas', as well as our Top 5 Turkey and Mince Pies thus far!

Prior to our December 2017 pie eating, here our top 5 turkey and top 5 mince pie reviews of years gone by:

Rank	Pie Producer	Pie Flavour	Score	By
1	Sweeney and Todd [RG1 7RD]	Turkey [Christmas]	6.21	RAS
2	Canteen [W1U 8EW]	Turkey, Leek and Cranberry	6.14	RAS
3	Pound Farm Shop	Turkey, Bacon and Leek	5.86	SJL
4	Sacks of Potatoes Pub [B4 7ER]	Turkey and Sausage	5.75	RAS
5	Higgidy	Lincolnshire Turkey, Bacon and Stuffing [Special Guest]	5.36	RAS

Click for all Turkey Pie Reviews.

Rank	Pie Producer	Pie Flavour	Score	By
1	Robinsons Bakery [M35 9PW]	Mince	6.18	RAS
2	Mr Kipling	Mince	6.07	RAS
3	Marks and Spencer	Gluten Free Mince (GF)	6.00	ALE
4	Lidl / Snowy Lodge	Mince	5.79	RAS
5	Duchy Originals	Organic Mince	5.65	TJP

Click for all Mince Pie Reviews.

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Marks and Spencer All Butter Classic and Luxury Mince Pie Reviews

Marks and Spencer All Butter Luxury Mince Pies

It seems every supermarket likes getting into the festive pie spirit and Marks and Spencer are no exception. With a fantastic range of mince pies in store, it was hard to decide which pies to pick up, particularly as a lot of the boxes of pies looked very similar to one another. We’d already had our gluten free Pierateer ALE rate the gluten free Marks and Spencer mince pies, so – finding the descriptions on the box of the Marks and Spencer Classic and Luxury mince pies almost identical – Pierateer RAS decided to try and work out what the difference was between the two in a pie-off.

So what were the Marks and Spencer Mince Pies like? And what was the difference? Well, the most noticeable difference was the price. The classic pies cost £1.80 for a box of 6 mince pies or 30ppp, compared to £2.50 for a box of 6 luxury mince pies at 41.6ppp, which makes them some of the more expensive boxes of supermarket mince pies this Christmas time. However at Pierate HQ it’s not all about the price – it’s about whether the pie is worth the price!

Marks and Spencer All Butter Classic Mince Pies

The pies came in good condition, though the classic pie had a rather plain lid compared to the more elaborate design of the luxury pies, which incorporated a snowflake. However the lid of the luxury pies were quite inconsistent, with some lids slightly uneven and sticking to the foil casing, thus breaking the lid off the pie when trying to eat them.

The colour was quite good for mince pies – though there was a significant contrast from the darker, crisper edge pastry that created a reasonable overhang to the lighter, central pastry. The pastry was nice and crisp without being dry, crumbling easily in the mouth.

Marks and Spencer All Butter Luxury Mince Pies

Inside both pies there was a reasonably strong capacity of mincemeat, with clear fruity pieces and a nice moist filling. The content wasn’t too chewy, which was good, and was consistently well filled throughout the pie. The filling tasted very similar between the two – very fruity sultanas, currants and raisins.

All in all, both were nice Christmas mince pies which I’d certainly want to eat again, even if they were a little more expensive per pie than most other supermarket pies. With a full 11.6p per pie difference between the two, I’d say there isn’t a noticeable enough difference to warrant paying the extra for the luxury pies, even if they do look a bit nicer. But two more Pierate Recommended mince pies none the less!

Marks and Spencer All Butter Mince Pies – Classic Recipe
Score: 5.56/7
[Colour 5.5, Capacity 6.25, Consistency 5.75, Condition 5.8, Chewiness 5.6, Cheapness 4, Content 6, Total: 5.56/7]

Marks and Spencer All Butter Mince Pies – Luxury Recipe
Score: 5.23/7
[Colour 5.5, Capacity 6.25, Consistency 5.75, Condition 4.5, Chewiness 5.6, Cheapness 3, Content 6, Total: 5.23/7]

RAS

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Harrods Luxury Almond and Brandy Mince Pie Review

When it comes to the big names in shopping, few can beat Harrods. One of London’s premier stores – if not the world’s – means that any food which comes from the store’s huge food hall will get savoured across the globe and put on a pedestal of divine deliciousness. Or at least that’s the theory. And hundreds of you have read our review of the Harrods mince pies we rated last year to find out how good they were. But how would these full-sized Harrods mince pies withstand the Pierateer’s 7 Cs as I ate one on Christmas Day? Let’s find out...

The beautiful Harrods Mince Pie box

You may remember that last Christmas we rated the Harrods Luxurious Mini Mince Pie Selection, which contained nine mini pies of three different flavours and featured in the “12 Pies of Christmas” music video we made. This year we were back in Harrods and picked up their Luxury Almond and Brandy Mince Pies. These were full-sized mince pies this year – in fact, probably slightly larger than the average supermarket mince pie, but at a whopping £9.50 for a box of six – that’s 150ppp and easily the most expensive mince pie we’ve rated! – can the Harrods pie really live up to expectation?

Harrods Mince Pie Review

Well the mix of the fruity filling and almond made this pie taste significantly different in filling to many mince pies out there. You also definitely get a bit of a taste sensation with the brandy, providing a bit of a late kick. One of the issues with this flavoured pie last year was that the ratio of pastry to mince meat was too much on the pastry side, and while the larger pie this time did improve the balance, it was still too pastry heavy. The pastry was rather thick and too dry, not quite balanced well enough by the fruity filling. The filling needed to be a bit moister to balance the pastry better. The capacity was not perfect but pretty good, and with a nice fruity filling it was really just lacking a bit of moisture in the content to be even better.

Altogether the pie tastes nice, the crunch from the almond was good, and the flavour lingered nicely after eating. That said, it was again rather expensive for the privilege at £1.50 for a standard sized mince pie. A posh alternative, but I wouldn’t rush back to get these on my Christmas dinner table again next year.

Harrods Luxury Almond and Brandy Mince Pie
Score: 4.07/7
[Colour 4.5, Capacity 5, Consistency 4, Condition 5, Chewiness 4, Cheapness 1.5, Content 4.5, Total: 4.07/7]
RAS

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Waitrose Duchy Originals Organic Mince Pies review

Out of the packet, these mince pies are in excellent condition and have a lovely golden colour. The all butter pastry is obviously of high quality, as the pie feels solid in the hand and unlikely to disintegrate like cheaper mince pies. The pastry is crispy, crunchy and yummy.


Slicing open the pie, there is a noticeable air gap. I therefore felt these pies needed a bit more mincemeat filling, especially for the price paid. The mincemeat is fruity and tangy, and complements the pastry well. This pie is really delicious, and goes well with some vanilla custard (which is needed as I felt the pie was a little dry otherwise). I would buy them again, even if they are a bit of an extravagant expense.

Waitrose Duchy Originals Organic Mince Pies
Score: 5.65/7 - Pierate recommended
TJP

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Nice Pie Partridge in a Pear Pie Review

You can probably imagine my surprise when, having joked to Nice Pie on twitter “I don’t suppose you do a ‘partridge in a pear tree’ pie for Christmas, do you?” that the answer was yes – yes they do! But perhaps I shouldn’t have been so surprised! After all, Nice Pie have provided us with a whole menagerie of exotic pies that have rated very well on the 7 Cs of pie rating!

Nice Pie Partridge Pie Review

Of course the Partridge in a Pear Tree is famed as the first and most repeated line in the Christmas tune “The Twelve Days of Christmas”. The partridge in a pear tree was in fact the kick start to what the true love gave over those 12 days of Christmas. But surely what your true love would really want for Christmas is a pie – rather than a tree with a bird in?! The question is… could the partridge in a pear pie be that ideal pie? Could the novelty flavour work in a pie? Is this what we’ve been missing from the Christmas table the last few years?




The partridge in a pear pie contained – as you might have guessed – large pieces of partridge within a pear and pear cider filling. The pieces of meat were spread through the pie, surrounded by what was like a pear puree with some small crisp pieces of pear. The pastry was crisp and lightly golden, holding well considering how packed to the capacity the pie was with content. There were a few crumbly bits but on the whole held together well and could be picked up too.

Nice Pie Partridge Pie Review

There were some very big pieces of partridge in the pie, which could have been cut a little smaller and distributed across the pie to spread the flavour a little more, but you certainly couldn’t miss the meaty content of this pie! The partridge itself was a dark meat, a bit chewier than your typical chicken or turkey meat, though it reminded me more of the latter. It was just a little dry in places, probably due to the filling of the pie being more of a moist, pear filling than a gravy-style consistency.

The content was certainly weighted more towards the meat, which I for one wasn’t complaining about! The pear had quite a sweet tang to it, which is a bit more of an acquired taste and not something I had really sampled in much cooking, let alone a savoury dish! It infiltrated the meat and pastry, flavouring the whole pie. While making it quite a sweet dish as a result, this pie certainly lived up to its billing as partridge in a pear pie!

I’d certainly sum this pie up as a novelty pie, rather than one I would regularly want to eat (but then this is very much a Christmas pie!) The sweetness of the pie was a little too much for me to have a large portion, but it would be a real talking point on the Christmas dinner table! To be honest, I still can't believe this pie actually exists! And for such a large meat-filled pie, containing partridge, this was very impressive and unique for just £6.50. For fans of the ‘meat and sweet’ combo I’d certainly recommend giving it a try, however I would also be intrigued by a partridge and gravy pie. Still, that wouldn’t make such a good line in a song…

Nice Pie Partridge in a Pear Pie
Score: 4.64/7
[Colour 5.5, Capacity 6, Consistency 3.5, Condition 5, Chewiness 4, Cheapness 5, Content 3.5, Total: 4.64/7]
RAS

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Morrisons Pie Reivews

I love this time of year. I love the Christmas trees, the twinkling lights, spending time with family, turkey, etc, etc. But what really make me excited are the special limited edition festive pies. Sometimes these are bizarre flavour which wouldn't stand a chance of being served on The Pierate Ship dinner table at any other time of year. But at Christmas the rules of the game seem to change slightly. It provides a great chance to tear open the familiar pastry wrapping paper to find the present of a never before tasted flavour. For a Pierateer there seem to have been particularly rich pickings this year. Whilst I feel Morissons have perhaps had more than their fair share of pie reviews (see our list of Morrisons pie reviews), I just couldn't resist when I found no less than FIVE festive pies. But will they leave me wishing it could be Christmas everyday or just a bah humbug? Let's see if Morissons think I have been good this year with a range of mini pork pies, mini meat pies and a winter fruit pie.

Apple and Winterberry (Morrisons Pie Counter)
6.03/7
I don't often review lattice topped pies. I have been known to comment that the filling seems a bit 'naked', but hey, it's the season of good will to all pies. Especially when they taste this good. Similar to the individual apple pie reviewed before.
Condition - 5.0 out of 7 - A great looking pie, I forgive and forget the lattice top lid but it fell apart when going for the cross-section which was disappointing.
Colour - 6.5 out of 7 - Vibrant reds, a crispy golden brown, dusted with icing sugar like the first snow fall of winter.
Cheapness - 5.0 out of 7 - At 65p this is a reasonable price for a desert or snack for one person. Twin pack is cheaper.
Capacity - 6.0 out of 7 - Even a flea wouldn't survive very long if it was left to breath only the air in this pie. It was jam packed.
Chewiness - 6.5 out of 7 - A triumph of texture. A mix of a crunchy biscuity top crust and soft bottom crust. The fruit was soft but had a bit of bite. The berries had some crunchy seeds which I enjoyed.
Content - 6.5 out of 7 - In terms of taste, this is one of the best fruit pies I have eaten. The sweetness of the sugar and apple was counter balanced by the rich and sour flavour of the unidentifiable Winterberries. It didn't get full marks as there could have been more chunks of fruit rather than the fruity jelly padding it out slightly.
Consistency - 6.7 out of 7 - Worked well as a pastry package, the sweet pastry complementing the filling.

Mini Pork & Cranberry (Morrisons)
5.33/7
Condition - 4.8 out of 7 - Again an unnecessary lattice top which was sneakily hidden behind the packaging. It looked decent despite the unnecessary holes in the top.

Left to Right - Stilton, Apple and Cranberry

Colour - 6.1 out of 7 - Amazing glossy brown colours. Filling seemed slightly too pink to me.
Cheapness - 5.1 out of 7 - £1.89 for a pack of six ain't bad even for mini pies.
Capacity - 5.5 out of 7 - For a small pie it fit in a lot. Small gaps for a bit of jelly.
Chewiness - 5.1 out of 7 - Not any chewy bits to the filling but it could have been less mushy. There was a good crunch to the pastry.
Content - 5.3 out of 7 - For me I found this ideal as there was a subtle amount of the festive berry. If you are a big fan of cranberry you might find it lacking. The tang of the berries made this stand out from the average pork pie.
Consistency - 5.4 out of 7 - Different and would work well as part of a Christmas buffet.

Mini Pork & Apple (Morrisons)
4.87/7
Condition - 5.5 out of 7 - Topped with poppy seeds, this made it look a little bit better than standard versions.
Colour - 5.0 out of 7 - Again, some wonderful hues to the outside but the inside didn't look great...
Cheapness - 5.1 out of 7 - Same as cranberry.
Capacity - 2.5 out of 7 - Not sure what Morrisons had done here, terrible cross section, it seemed like a species of termite had burrowed holes in the filling leaving lots of gaps.
Chewiness - 4.5 out of 7 - Slipped down pretty well. It wasn't dry, like it looked.
Content - 6.0 out of 7 - The flavour of this pie blew my mind. Not just a standard pork and apple, it was actually flavoured with CINNAMON! Somehow it worked, in this small dose it wasn't overpowering and gave the pie a refined taste.
Consistency - 5.5 out of 7 - Whilst the amount of filling let this pie down it tasted great and would get the guests talking at a Christmas party as it was delightfully different. Just don't let them look at the filling...

Mini Pork & Stilton (Morrisons Deli)
5.07/7
Condition - 5.1 out of 7 - Dusted with a crumb topping this pie again stood out on appearances.
Colour - 4.8 out of 7 - Not quite such a perfect golden brown like the other pork pies.
Cheapness - 5.5 out of 7 - At £1.29 it is similar price to the others and good value as Stilton isn't cheap.
Capacity - 4.8 out of 7 - The photo looks decent but I found some of the pack had dodgy air gaps.
Chewiness - 3.8 out of 7 - Decent performance from the filling although it was a little mushy. The pastry was unfortunately dry and crumbly in places.
Content - 6.0 out of 7 - For me this was wonderful, the very small amount of Stilton gave it a rich aroma. The mouldy cheese can often be overpowering, but not here. It may disappoint if you like cheese so much you get tempted to steal it from mouse traps.
Consistency - 5.5 out of 7 - Again, whilst this wasn't consistently great, I would get some for a festive feast as it is worth trying.

Mini Beef & Onion (Morrisons)
3.13/7
I was very happy to see these mini meat pies which could be eaten hot. There really is a gap in the market for small hot pies. I would say it was a shame these aren't available all year but they are barely worth eating given the lack of filling.
Condition - 5.0 out of 7 - These critters actually looked half decent, I might even go as far as to say they looked cute, I don't think I have seen a smaller pie.
Colour - 4.8 out of 7 - Good but not special.
Cheapness - 2.7 out of 7 - £2.49 for 6, you don't get much for your 41.5p here. These are tiny and lack the value of the pork pies. You could almost get one of the pie counter pies for how much these tiny things cost!
Capacity - 1.4 out of 7 - Abysmal, these reminded me of the air pie. They were quite tall so could have got a morsel inside but they were all largely empty. Just a smear of filling at the bottom.
Content - 4.5 out of 7 - What there was of the filling tasted nice. Pretty standard meat and onion with a bit of carrot.
Consistency - 3.5 out of 7 - These didn't taste bad but didn't really work. It was just like eating a fairly average and slightly dry shortcrust on it's own.

A mixture of presents in the Morrisons christmas stocking. Most of them I would recommend to try but not necessarily pies I would buy regularly. Perhaps the fact that they are temporary makes them all the more desirable and special.

SJL

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Fortnum and Mason "Three Kings" Mince Pies Review

"We three kings of Orient are, bearing gifts we traverse afar, field and fountain, moor and mountain, following yonder star..."

“On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2v11, The Bible)

Some famous words there from the Christmas Carol "We Three Kings" and the Bible remind us of the three gifts that were presented to baby Jesus in the Bible's account of the Christmas story. I'm sure many of us will remember the three gifts presented - Gold for a king, Frankincense for a Priest and Myrrh for someone who would ultimately die on a cross - but what if these gifts were given a bit of a pie twist? After all, wouldn't you be intrigued to try a gold topped pie, a Frankincense Oil infused pie and a Myrrh Oil infused pie?!

Fortnum and Mason "Three Kings" Mince Pies

So in keeping with the Christmas tradition, we at Pierate have given the "Three Kings" mince pies - inspired by the nativity and produced by Fortnum and Mason in central London - a pie rating:


Gold topped pie

These pies were quite potent when it came to flavouring, with quite a bit of nut in the mincemeat filling. That said, there wasn't a great deal of filling in them. They were about 75% pastry and 25% filling, which for us Pierateers is not at all satisfactory as a filling:pastry ratio. With the pastry being quite crumbly and dry, this further took away from the score this pie would achieve, as the filling that was in there was not very fruity and not very tasty.

While the novelty factor of the gold topping was great - they would certainly create a real talking point at your Christmas pie party - the rest of the pie failed to live up to the golden billing. I'd not want to eat one of these again.

Fortnum and Mason "Three Kings" Mince Pies: Gold
Score: 1.46/7
[Colour 3, Capacity 1, Consistency 1, Condition 2.75, Chewiness 2, Cheapness 0.25, Content 0.25, Total: 1.46/7]


Frankincense Oil infused pie

The frankincense oil infused pies certainly gave you a minty kick that was hard to miss. It did feel slightly like I was eating some minty toothpaste in a pie but I didn't dislike this unusual factor. Sure, I wouldn't want to eat a large pie of this flavour, but for a mini pie bite, and the fact I was eating a frankincense infused pie, I couldn't really complain. The filling certainly tasted nicer in this pie than the gold one.

However once again the pie was about 75% pastry and only 25% filling, which was probably a good thing in this pie because the filling flavour was so strong that I really needed that extra pastry to cope with the intense filling flavour. While I wouldn't regularly go for it, I might eat this pie again if given the option.

Fortnum and Mason "Three Kings" Mince Pies: Frankincense
Score: 1.57/7
[Colour 2, Capacity 1, Consistency 1, Condition 2.75, Chewiness 2, Cheapness 0.75, Content 1.5, Total: 1.57/7]

Myrrh Oil infused pie

Again the Myrrh pie suffered from poor filling:pastry ratio syndrome! There was a lot of quite dry pastry surrounding quite a thin layer of filling. It was again very spice heavy and the strong flavour meant I wouldn't want to eat much of it. Similar to the Frankincense pie - edible but not really enjoyable.

Fortnum and Mason "Three Kings" Mince Pies: Myrrh
Score: 1.57/7
[Colour 2, Capacity 1, Consistency 1, Condition 2.75, Chewiness 2, Cheapness 0.75, Content 1.5, Total: 1.57/7]


In summary, all these pies suffered from being heavily pastry focused and therefore having a very poor filling:pastry ratio. In some of them, this did at least help balance out the intense filling flavours you got from the pie but at £1 a pop, for a pie you could easily consume in one little bite, these really were far from good value for money. I'm not saying I'm surprised - they were from Fortnum and Mason after all! - but if I were to buy them again, it would certainly be for the "Three Kings" novelty factor rather than the edibility factor, and for me that is not a good enough reason to give these pies anywhere near a good score!

This means these pies unfortunately really aren't fit for a king – so I think the Three Kings were very wise in choosing their gifts for baby Jesus. A great, novel idea by Fortnum and Mason, but not well executed and I would say these really are only for decorating the Christmas table.

RAS

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Harrods Luxurious Mini Mince Pie Selection Review



Harrods Luxurious Mini Mince Pie Selection

When it comes to the big names in shopping, few can beat Harrods. One of London’s premier stores – if not the world’s – means that any food which comes from the store’s huge food hall will get savoured across the globe and put on a pedestal of divine deliciousness. Or at least that’s the theory.

But what if that food was pie. And what if that pie got pie rated?! Would Harrods Luxurious Mince Pie selection withstand the Pierateer’s 7 Cs? Let’s find out...

The Harrods Luxurious Mini Mince Pie Selection contains nine mini pies of three different flavours, which were all eaten by Pierateers RAS, SJL and TJP for feedback but then the final scores were awarded by Pierateer RAS as follows:

Top - Fruity Almond; Left - Cranberry, Right - Pecan

Pecan Topped Mince Pie

The first item eaten from the box was topped with pecans, but unfortunately only had pastry around the sides and base. This means it doesn’t meet the Pierateer’s definition of a true pie. However while the mince meat is quite tasty and the pecans add a nice crunch, we're not able to give this pie a top score because it's not got a lid. While the mince meat and crunchy pecans do complement each other well, I probably wouldn't go for it again unless they added a pastry lid to properly complement the pie.

The pecan flavour and texture of the pecan nut was very nice and something different for a mince pie – in fact I’d go as far as to say I was quite nuts about it – but considering how small it is and at almost 100ppp, it is rather expensive and for a non-pie, it’s not really worth it in our minds.

Score: 3.64/7
[Colour 4.5, Capacity 3,5, Consistency 4, Condition 4, Chewiness 3.5, Cheapness 2, Content 4, Total: 3.64/7]


Star-topped Cranberry Mince Meat Mince Pie

You could certainly taste a difference between the mince meat in most mince pies and this Cranberry Mince Meat Mince Pie, although in terms of flavour I wouldn't have immediately put it down to the addition of cranberries. Still, it was surprisingly nice and I certainly would eat one of these pies again. The slight sourness of the cranberry added an interesting kick but was a nice addition to the flavour. The flavour was not the best of the three but a (near) fully encased pie it was and it certainly was a unique and enjoyable flavour at that.

It was however certainly too small to get a decent filling:pastry ratio. There was far too much pastry and it did drown out the filling a fair bit. That said, the pastry was very nice. At just under a pound each for a very small pie, they were certainly not going to be able to be shared round easily but they were a nice treat.

Score: 3.79/7
[Colour 4.5, Capacity 4, Consistency 4, Condition 4, Chewiness 4, Cheapness 2, Content 4, Total: 3.79/7]


Rich Fruity Almond Mince Meat With A Hint Of Brandy Mince Pie

The mix of the fruity filling and almond made this our favourite filling. You also definitely get a bit of a taste sensation with the brandy, providing a bit of a late kick. While this pie was the only fully encased pie of the three types, the ratio of pastry to mince meat was again too much on the pastry side. The capacity was not perfect but pretty good; there were some air gaps in there, which for such a small pie is disappointing, but the content was very good. It tastes nice, the crunch from the almond was good, and the flavour lingered nicely after eating. That said, it was again still rather expensive for the privilege at just under one pound each for very mini pies.

Score: 4.14/7
[Colour 4.5, Capacity 4, Consistency 4, Condition 5, Chewiness 4.5, Cheapness 2, Content 5, Total: 4.14/7]


Harrods Luxurious Mini Mince Pie Selection
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Marks and Spencer Ultimate All Butter Mince Pies Review

It doesn't take much to attract my attention to a box of pies - after all, we do very much keep our eyes on the pies at Pierate HQ! However when a box of pies is described as "Ultimate" in their title, these have got to be VERY good pies if they are to live up to their billing! So when I came across the Marks and Spencer Ultimate All Butter Mince Pies during a trip to London's Oxford Street recently, I certainly had to give them a pie rating! After all, these aren't just mince pies... these are M&S Ultimate All Butter Mince Pies...



Hand crafted Mince Pies from M&S

However the first impression I got when opening up the box of pies was that M&S seemed to be trying a bit too hard to make out these are hand crafted pies. For not only was this mentioned on the label in shiny, golden lettering, but every single pie out of the 8 I bought had the lid on wonkily. Now, I'm not going to argue that someone making pies by hand might put a lid or two on wonkily - just due to human nature and trying to get all these pies made before Christmas - but I find it hard to believe that the staff at M&S are so bad at making pies that they couldn't even get 1 of the 8 pies to have a lid that actually attached correctly! It's as if... dare I say it... the lids of these pies were intentionally put on wonkily to highlight the fact they are "hand crafted" rather than put on immaculately by a machine! Hmmm... I guess we will never know!


The Ultimate Mince Pie?!

The content gave a top, fruity flavouring, probably the best tasting mince pie filling I'd had. The full filling was mincemeat "packed with vine fruits, kirch soaked glace cherries, roasted almonds and armagnac." It was so moist and flavoursome and provided a striking, yet complimentary, contrast to the crisp pastry. You could really taste that you were getting one of your five a day here, rather than just some mincey, fruit goo leftovers. The capacity however was a bit disappointing, with several air gaps in the pie.


So ultimately, are these the best mince pies I've ever rated? I'm afraid not. In summary, I'd happily eat again, but would think twice about forking out £1 a pie for these, when there are other nice mince pies for a fraction of the price.

Marks and Spencer Ultimate All Butter Mince Pies
Score: 5.36/7
[Colour 5.5, Capacity 5.5, Consistency 6.5, Condition 5.5, Chewiness 5.5, Cheapness 3, Content 6, Total: 5.36/7]
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Additional note: It must also be noted that unfortunately these pies are ridiculously hard to get hold of. Considering they are supposed to be the "Ultimate" mince pies that Marks and Spencer sell, I was thoroughly disappointed that not only was I unable to get hold of any in the huge Birmingham High Street city centre store but also that they had no idea if they would be getting a new delivery in before Christmas. In the end I had to travel down from Birmingham to London to obtain a second box of these pies for my '12 Pies of Christmas' video, which I think is pretty unacceptable but I hope at least highlights the lengths the Pierateers are willing to go to provide the pie fans with the pie reviews they crave. Here's hoping that in the future Marks and Spencer do a better job of getting their pies to the people!

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Mr Kipling Deep Filled Mince Pie Review

Even with the abundance of mince pies that are made and sold in the UK each and every year, there is one brand of mince pie synonymous with Christmas. That brand of pie is the Mr Kipling Mince Pie. So popular, they even have a twitter fan club!

Having been sent a free box from Mr Kipling for our 4th Birthday and about to go on holiday to Italy at that time, it only seemed right that I take the box of pies with me to share with my Italian friend and his family (who had never eaten a British pie before!)



Mr Kipling Mince Pies taken to the Colosseum, Italy

However this didn’t leave me with a fully representative sample and so, having bought some more in Poundland recently, it was time to give Mr Kipling a proper pie rating! (Ok, so maybe this was just an excuse to eat more pies...)



Box of Mr Kipling Mince Pies

The colour of the pie was a nice shade and immediately appetising. The condition of the pie was quite good, considering the box got slightly worse for wear due to all the travelling I was doing with the pies. There is supposed to be a pastry Christmas tree shape on top of the pies, though unfortunately these were not clearly visible on all the pies in my box. However upon biting into the pie, the lack of a little extra pastry tree was all forgotten about, as I enjoyed the mouthful of pie I was presented with.

Mr Kipling Mince Pie

The short crust pastry is nice and buttery – could be a little more moist in places but certainly not as dry as a lot of mince pies I’ve tasted at this time of the year. The pies were filled well with mincemeat content, although there was a bit of an air gap between the filling and pastry lid. This slight fault in capacity however was not an obvious detraction from the pie itself, as the ratio of filling:pastry was pretty much spot on. The filling was quite moist still, which was nice. A few little crisp bits of zest gave it a little tang but the moist, fruity filling was the real draw for me. Not too chewy and consistently good throughout the pie.

The pies were only £1 in Poundland, so 16.7ppp in a box of six. However some other retailers were charging anything up to £1.80 for six pies, so I’d certainly recommend shopping around!

You can see why these are called exceedingly merry mince pies, which if you shop around you can get for a bargain 16.7ppp each. A great addition to any Christmas or New Year celebration!



Mr Kipling Deep Filled Mince Pie
Score: 6.07/7
[Colour 6, Capacity 6, Consistency 6.5, Condition 5.5, Chewiness 6, Cheapness 6.5, Content 6, Total: 6.07/7]
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Higgidy “Special Guest” Lincolnshire Turkey, Bacon and Stuffing Pie Review

Christmas is a time for sharing gifts with your loved ones, welcoming in special guests to your home and enjoying good food and good banter! And what better food gift to share with your special guests than a pie (of course, at Christmas time it has to be a turkey pie!) The question is... What do you put with it? Obviously it needs to be packed full of meatilicious turkey – that’s a given! But what other parts of the Christmas meal should be included in the pie if you want to really give your guests some festive cheer?!

Well I guess everyone’s going to write a slightly different list (and check it twice) to Santa when requesting what type of turkey pie they want for Christmas. But for me, it would have to be turkey, bacon/sausage and stuffing, with a nice bit of gravy! Love a good amount of dinner with my gravy! So when I saw that the Higgidy Christmas Turkey pie contained all of my requirements, it was immediately added to my ’12 Pies of Christmas’ list!



4 Higgidy Pies

Coming out of the oven, the lid of the pie was a nice lightly golden colour and the sides and base were quite good colour, though a bit paler as can be seen in the photo. Cutting through the pie, there was a strong capacity, though a bit of an air gap between filling and pastry lid. There was not much of a mix of colour inside the pie, particularly because there weren’t many pieces of bacon in the filling to add to the colour.

However tucking into the pie, there was certainly no lack of turkey inside! The pieces were quite large and spread throughout the pie, though in both my pie and those of the three friends I shared my “Four Higgidy Pies” with, the consistency of turkey, bacon and stuffing throughout the pie wasn’t quite perfect, with some mouthfuls exclusively of stuffing.



Inside the Higgidy Turkey Pie

On the topic of stuffing, the sweet apricots in the stuffing (alongside the sausagemeat and festive herbs) did add a slight twist to this pie, adding hints of sweetness to another wise quite meaty pie. I wouldn’t personally add apricot to the pie, but it did make this pie a bit more unique and might appeal to some. Also, while this pie wasn’t dry, it did lack an ideal amount of moisture which would be provided by a little more gravy/stock. The side and base pastry, while nice to eat, could have done with being a bit less dry.

However my main disappointment with this pie was actually the level of pepper included in the recipe. Unfortunately this was a big distraction from the actual taste of the meat in the pie – so much so that when someone asked me the next day about the pie I had eaten, all that immediately came to mind was that it was far too peppery (for me and my special guests). I’m not a huge fan of pepper in pies, but this pie not only had pepper in the turkey and bacon filling and the stuffing, but also cayenne pepper in the short crust pastry!!! I can only hope that the pies we ate had been made in an overly peppery batch because the levels of pepper were so much that I’d personally rename this pie a “Pepper with turkey, bacon and stuffing” pie. To those who love their pepper, this is clearly the pie for you. Sadly, however, I don’t think this would greatly appeal to the wider turkey pie loving market. I certainly wouldn’t eat another if the recipe did not change.

At £3 per pie, I think this is very reasonable for a good sized, meaty Christmas pie. In addition, the pie box contained a token that – when 10 are collected – would allow me to get a free Higgidy pie, so I’m already well on my way to a free pie having eaten 4 Higgidy pies for the ’12 Pies of Christmas’ music video.

I don’t like to end on a sour (or peppery) note, but hopefully this was just an overly-peppery batch and the recipe will be slightly tweaked to provide a delicious turkey pie for next Christmas! There’s certainly a lot of potential in this Christmas pie if the recipe is just tweaked slightly.

Higgidy “Special Guest” Lincolnshire Turkey, Bacon and Stuffing Pie
Score: 5.36/7
[Colour 5, Capacity 6, Consistency 4, Condition 7, Chewiness 6.5, Cheapness 6, Content 3, Total: 5.36/7]
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