Winner scores high in Christmas mince pie taste test

EIGHT judges, eight pies and an overdose of sugar and spice – South Coast Herald reporters held their big annual Christmas mince pie taste test this week.

And this year, there was an outright winner. Out of a possible 160 points, the pies we bought from Spice Dreams in Sunwich Port scored an amazing 132, with two of the judges awarding these culinary masterpieces 20 out of 20. There were many comments about their pretty appearance, with the star-shaped crusts impressing the judges. They tasted as good as they looked, with judges describing them as nice and spicy, with a delicious, fruity taste. There were complimentary comments about the pastry, too.

The rest of the scores were more closely matched with very few points separating the second and last places. As well as the Spice Dreams examples, pies tested and tasted by the team were a six-pack from Ramsgate Spar, a pack of four Woolworths’ all butter pies, six pies from Checkers, Southcoast Mall, a half-dozen Royal Bakery pies, six ordinary Woolworth’s pies, a six-pack of Checkers Limited Edition pies from the Hibiscus Mall store, and another six from Pick n Pay Margate.

Two of these, the Checkers Limited Edition ones and Pick n Pay, Margate pies, tied for second place with 93 points. Some judges thought the Checkers pie pastry was a little too crumbly. While they liked the rich, fruity taste of the Pick n Pay pies, some judges could have done with a little more spice.

In third place, with 91 points, the Royal Bakery pies earned compliments for both their appearance and taste. In fact, there were very few negative comments and one of the judges summed the results up perfectly.

“Overall, I felt the quality was up to the usual high standard. None of the pies tested would disappoint.”

Price-wise there was quite a difference. At R34.99 for four, the Woolworths’ all butter pies were the most expensive, but these were larger than the other pies tested. The cheapest, at R17.95, were the Pick n Pay pies and, as these came in second, they were voted the best value for money. The limited edition pies were a little pricey at R32.99 for six and the other Woolworths’ pies were R27.95 for six. All of the others cost R20, give or take a few cents.

The sweet, spicy, fruity pies we enjoy as Christmas treats today have come a long way from those first meaty, rather savoury ones brought to Britain by Crusaders returning from the Holy Land. These reflected the Middle East cooking, which often flavours meat dishes with fruit and spices.

There has always been a great deal of symbolism involved in the making of mince pies. The trio of spices, cloves, nutmeg and cinnamon that is traditionally used, is said to represent the magi – the three kings or wise men from the east who followed the star to Bethlehem. Many of the older recipes made use of 13 ingredients, the number symbolising Christ and his 12 apostles.

An old superstition endures with many people believing you should eat at least 12 mince pies over the festive season to ensure good luck for the next 12 months.

If you subscribe to this superstition, start the ball rolling by trying out our selection and seeing what you think of our taste testers’ choice.