Price: £3.00 for a box of 6 (06/09/2024)
These TESCO Finest mince pies are described on the box as “rich, crumbly, all butter pastry packed with a delicious mix of plump vine fruits and glacé cherries. Infused with French brandy and ruby port, with a refreshing twist of lemon zest, tangerine oil and festive spices. Finished with a gentle dusting of sugar.”
This was my first mince pie of the 2024 festive season. As is customary, they began appearing on shop shelves in early September, bringing to an end a desolate seven months of mince pie deprivation. It was with great relief that I snapped some up at the earliest opportunity.
Vaunted as ‘rich and decadent‘, these pies sit at the very top of Tesco’s own brand mince pie range. Care is taken over the presentation, with an attractive snowflake pattern on the pastry lid, and the deep filling can be seen reaching right up to the lip of the case. There’s a generous sprinkling of sugar to top them off.
Cold Taste Test
I tried my first one cold, straight out of the box, which, for convenience, is how I eat most of my mince pies. The texture and consistency of the pastry is what can let a lot of mince pies down if you don’t oven heat them, but these were about as good as pie pastry can be in a straight-outta-the-box scenario.
As you would expect from a premium product, the filling was noticeably deeper than a typical mid-range mince pie, and it was satisfying moist and fruity. Some premium pies can tend to be overly pretentious with their ingredients, moving too far away from a traditional mincemeat taste, but there are no concerns on that front here.
Hot Taste Test
I’m the only regular mince pie eater in my household, so it’s rarely worth putting the oven on for them if I’m just having the one. However, I do find that they heat up fairly well in the Microwave. I usually give them 15 seconds at 750 W. The downside is that the pastry won’t crisp up nicely like it does in a conventional oven or air fryer, but the heat can intensify the flavours in the filling.
After letting it cool for a minute, because hot mincemeat can really burn your mouth, I dug in. The warm, sweet mincemeat was instantly pleasing to my palate as the luscious melange of raisin and citrus flavours filled my mouth. There was only the slightest hint of the aforementioned brandy and port, but overall the combination of ingredients was well balanced and gratifying.
Verdict
These are good mince pies and are worthy of their ‘finest’ status in the Tesco range. I’ll definitely be buying them again from time to time when I fancy something a little more sophisticated than a bog-standard mince pie.
At £3 a packet, they are a bit on the pricey side, which is why they will never replace the mid-range pies as my regular, day-to-day, go-to pies. However, they do have their place as an occasional treat.
Nutrition
Typical values (per 100g):
- Energy: 380 kcal
- Fat: 13.6 g
- Saturates: 9.1 g
- Carbohydrate: 59.9 g
- Of which sugars: 36.3 g
- Fibre : 1.4 g
- Protein: 4.0 g
- Salt: 0.27 g