With Christmas and New Year celebrations just around the corner, many of us who have festive parties planned will be whizzing around the supermarkets to pick up buffet food aplenty.
If you're a meat eater, you can't go wrong with a good old pork pie when it comes to a delicious party spread - but with several shops offering their take on the classic snack, it can be hard to find one that gives you quality and taste for your money. It's sometimes worth shopping around to find the best deal - but with the run-up to Christmas being so hectic, who has the time?
Luckily, the team at the Liverpool Echo have put pork pies from four major supermarkets through the ultimate taste test so you don't have to. Here's what they thought of each retailer's offering - with only one shop earning more than three stars.
Marks & Spencer - 4/5
Marks & Spencer's offering of 6 Mini British Melton Mowbray Pork Pies came in at £3.20, working out at 53p per pie - and despite not being the cheapest option out there, it seems it's worth spending the extra pennies when it comes to finding the best pork pies out there. M&S emerged victorious when it came down to the taste test, earning four out of five stars for appearance, taste and texture.
The reviewer's overall verdict was: "The pastry had a nice golden colour to it and didn't crumble to bits when I bit into it. It had a soft, butter flavour to it, but was just slightly lacking in taste if I'm being picky. Inside, there was plenty of meat and just the right amount of jelly round the sides to help keep it moist. The pork was well seasoned and thankfully there were no unpleasant gristly bits."
Asda - 3/5
Asda sells 10 Mini Pork Pies for just £2.15, which earned points for good value from the review team. Though it didn't do as well when it came down to the taste test, it was still considered to be a decent offering for the money that they would buy again.
"It wasn't quite even, and the meat filling didn't really come through as much as I'd have liked it to," the reviewer admitted. "There was a lot of pastry in comparison to the meat, and as much as it did taste okay, I just wish the pork pie had a bit more flavour. Don't get me wrong, it was good, but it definitely could've been better."
Tesco - 3/5
Priced at £1.55, Tesco's Melton Mowbray Pork Pie is made up of seasoned uncured pork baked in rich hot water crust pastry - but how did it fare in the taste test? Overall the supermarket's offering proved to be above average but nothing outstanding, according to the Echo's reviewer who was pleased overall but felt something was missing.
The verdict was: "The pastry had a nice texture, and that a real highlight of the pie was that it contained just the right amount of jelly. The only critique was that the pie was quite bland and needed more flavouring to it, or to be made with better quality pork."
Sainsbury's - 2.5/5
Sainsbury's Individual Melton Mowbray Pork Pie comes in at £1.75, but the reviewer - a self-confessed 'pork pie connoisseur' - was less than impressed, giving it the lowest score out of all the supermarkets that were put to the test. In the taste test the pie was found to be "bland" and ultimately left the pork pie fan disappointed.
"The pastry is quite nice on the outside but inside it's bland and from the filling, you wouldn't know you were eating pork at all," was the verdict. "I like the fact there's not a lot of jelly in it but it definitely needs more seasoning. It's not inedible but it's not great."
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