Aldi Specially Selected all-butter mince pies, £1.49 for six
Overall 3/10. Unpleasant cold. Much better warm but wouldn’t choose to eat it.
Appearance Neat; a lot of icing sugar on top.
Pastry Almost dusty; thick, not short.
Filling Acidic; contains brandy and cognac but not too boozy. Average.
Cold Quite raw.
Warm OK.
Co-op Irresistible all-butter pastry luxury mince pies, £2 for six
Overall 4/10. Really crumbly; good filling.
Appearance Neat, thick and well filled.
Pastry Pale in areas, and the pastry isn’t really short.
Filling Has brandy and a bit of port. Fruity, pleasant.
Cold Very average. A touch claggy.
Warm An improvement, but not great.
Morrisons The Best deep-filled mince pies, £2 for six
Overall 4/10. Very standard.
Appearance Golden on the edges, but fell apart easily.
Pastry Thick, pale and not very short. Broke apart quickly.
Filling Quite jammy and thick. Contains cider and brandy.
Cold Slightly raw-tasting pastry.
Warm The pastry browned more and it tasted OK.
Tesco Finest all-butter pastry mince pies, £2 for six
Overall 4/10. Pretty with a good amount of filling. Pastry slightly under-baked.
Appearance Sturdy and neat.
Pastry A bit thick.
Filling Generous, very citrussy. Contains brandy and port.
Cold Claggy.
Warm Easier to eat.
Asda extra-special luxury mince pies, £1.75 for six
Overall 5/10. Good but standard.
Appearance Generously filled, neat.
Pastry Sturdy, neat, very thick; benefits from warming.
Filling Quite jammy. Sweet and citrussy without being overpowered by the booze.
Cold Pastry was very crumbly.
Warm The pastry and filling work really well together. Enjoyed these.
M&S Food Collection mince pies, £2.50 for six
Overall 6/10. Feel posh. Not as large as some of the others. Good, but I’m not sold on them cold. Great when warm.
Appearance Neat and golden.
Pastry The double star on top makes it a bit thick if you eat it all the way through. They hold up nicely and the pastry tastes buttery.
Filling I really like the currants and fruit. The spicing and the hint of booze (brandy and cognac) are good.
Cold A bit claggy.
Warm Delicious.
Waitrose No 1 brown-butter mince pies, £2.40 for six
Overall 8/10. Decadent: there’s brown butter in the pastry, whole eggs and egg yolk along with amarena cherries, cognac and almonds.
Appearance Big, golden, rustic.
Pastry Lovely, but very crumbly; amazingly buttery when warm.
Filling Very rich, good contrast of crunchy almond, and the cognac is subtle.
Cold Super-messy.
Warm Incredible, especially with jersey and double cream together.
THE WINNER
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference mince pies with all-butter pastry, £1.50 for six
Overall 9/10. Ticks all the boxes.
Appearance Golden and gorgeous.
Pastry Thin along the sides, wonderful colour.
Filling Generous, warming, spiced well with a hint of brandy.
Cold The pastry is nice and light. Holds its shape out of the tin so you can eat one on the move.
Warm Brilliant, buttery.
• Ravneet Gill is the author of Sugar, I Love You and The Pastry Chef’s Guide
