Best mince pies for Christmas

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This was published 12 years ago

Best mince pies for Christmas

By Sarah McInerney

There's more to a good mince pie than a hefty price tag.

That's the finding of Cuisine's mince pie taste test, which shows cheaper private label brands are well and truly holding their own against their more expensive counterparts, with offerings from Aldi, Coles and Woolworths topping the list.

Three of the top four... Aldi Ashwood Luxury (front), Woolworths Homebrand (back left) and Aldi Ashwood.

Three of the top four... Aldi Ashwood Luxury (front), Woolworths Homebrand (back left) and Aldi Ashwood.Credit: Steven Siewert

THE RESULTS: How the mince pies rated

Mince pies were sourced from supermarkets, department stores and large chain grocers for the blind tasting. Prices ranged from $1.29 to $14.95 for a half-dozen. That's a cost of about 22¢ to $2.49 each pie.

Judging panel ... Michel Cattoen inspects one of the mince pies.

Judging panel ... Michel Cattoen inspects one of the mince pies.Credit: Steven Siewert

The results are close, with each member of the tasting panel favouring a different pie, but what is clear in their assessment is how similar the overall quality is across most offerings.

Putting their taste buds to the test were Bourke Street Bakery co-owner David McGuinness, Strudel Baron co-owner Michel Cattoen - both of whom make small batches of mince pies each Christmas - long-standing Country Women's Association member Liz Irvine and Sydney Royal Fine Food Show judge Andre Sandison, who teaches at Le Cordon Bleu in Sydney. They assessed the pies not only for flavour and finish but also the texture and appearance.

The judges were on the lookout for a moist filling with a good variety of dried fruit and spices, a pastry sturdy enough to hold the filling but with a nice amount of crumble and a good ratio of filling to casing.

No mince pie lover wants to be left with a mouthful of pastry or a filling better suited to a jam biscuit.

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Visually the mince pies couldn't have looked more different - some were topped with stars, others with a pie lid or lattice work.

In terms of taste, McGuinness finds there isn't much variation.

''I didn't find there was a great amount of difference so far as the fillings,'' he says.

''There was a pretty similar flavour running throughout, except for a couple of standouts, the standouts not being highlights, more lowlights. The same with the pastry.''

This sentiment showed up in the group's combined scores. Only half a point separated the Woolworths Homebrand mince pies and the runner-up, Aldi's Ashwood. Indeed, the top- and ninth-ranked pies were only 10.5 points apart. And while the judges' scores placed them all quite close together, in many cases they found each had a particular strength - either the filling or the pastry.

Take the top two: Cattoen describes the pastry of the Woolworths Homebrand as having ''a good consistency, cooked right through [and] not too sweet''. Sandison agrees the pastry has a good flavour but finds the filling a bit starchy. McGuinness finds the filling ''very sweet'' but notes the presence of whole fruit and brandy. It was one of the few to include brandy.

All the judges would have liked the team at Aldi to bake its Ashwood budget mince pies a bit longer to address the soft pastry at the bottom but Liz Irvine finds the filling ''nice and spicy''. She is also pleased to detect a hint of apple.

There is a general sense of disappointment that a buttery flavour isn't more prominent in many pastries. The panel speculated this was from the use of other oils and fats in addition to, or in place of, butter. Sandison says this may be to make the pastry more temperature stable and therefore in less need of refrigeration.

But is this fair enough, given many of these mince pies will potentially sit on a shelf for months? The judges were split on this. Sandison and McGuinness seemed more sympathetic to the constraints of commercial operations than the other two panellists.

Cattoen says there's no excuse not to use quality products.

''If you use proper shortcrust with butter and good ingredients, you can keep it for months on a shelf,'' he says.

''If you use poor product it will go rancid straight away, or if you don't store them properly.''

The panel is unanimous on whether a microwave is a suitable option for heating up mince pies.

The answer: No way. Pastry is best reheated in the oven.

HOW THE MINCE PIES RATED

The judges taste tested 12 mince pies and their scores were combined for the ranking.

1.Woolworths Home Brand, 360g, $1.98/6 pies

2.Ashwood (Aldi) , 360g, $1.29/6 pies

3.Coles, 360g, $1.50/6 pies

4.Ashwood luxury (Aldi), 410g, $2.99/6 pies

5.Woolworths bakery, 342g, $3.48/6 pies

6.Bakers Delight, 414g, $8.50/6 pies

7.David Jones (food), 360g, $14.95/6 pies

8.Simmone Logue, 420g, $25/12 miniature pies

Phillippa's, 215g, $14.90/6 pies

Mr Kipling, 355g, $4.78/6 pies (equal ranking)

9.Baker's Collection, 300g, $5.99/6 pies

10.Walkers, 372g, $9.99/6 pies

Follow this reporter on Twitter @SarahMcInerney or read her blog Tried & Tasted.

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