For our annual search for the best Christmas mince pie, we decided to test this traditional treat from five of the country’s biggest retailers — Checkers, Food Lover’s Market, Pick n Pay, Spar and Woolworths — as well as offerings from five smaller, independent bakeries around Johannesburg. Including The Pantry, Patisserie de Paris, Bread Alone, Fresh Earth and Glenda’s presented an interesting twist to what has normally been a competition between well-known retail giants.
To pick a winner, we invited five experts to join us for a blind tasting. For some of the judges this was their first year on the panel; others had judged the Christmas mince pie taste test before but none were part of the panel last year. On this year's panel we welcomed:
- Dave Collier – owner and head baker at Bakerman Consulting Services
- Stuart McClarty – owner and head baker at The Underground Bakery
- Catherine Adonis – head pastry chef at Saxon Hotel, Villas and Spa
- Mahlomola Thamae – director and executive chef at TM Innovations
- Carien Van Tonder – principal at HTA School of Culinary Art
All 10 pies were presented to the judges one at a time and individually, having been slightly warmed in the oven. The tasting was conducted blind, meaning the pies were presented without external packaging. The judges were asked to score each pie out of 30 using a score sheet with three categories: appearance (10 points), pastry (10 points) and filling (10 points). These scores were collated by Jenny Kay, who made sure the pies were presented in the correct order, and double-checked by Sanet Oberholzer, who facilitated the tasting.
We were looking for a pie with a good ratio of filling to pastry. The filling had to be plump and bursting with well-balanced flavours that speak to a good traditional Christmas mince pie. A good pie, of course, would not be complete without a buttery, perfectly baked pastry that hasn’t been overworked.
Are the retailers up to the task this year? Here are the results.
CONVENTIONAL RETAILERS
FIRST PLACE
Spar
What the judges said:
The judges thought Spar’s pies had a good colour and were neat, uniform and consistent in appearance. Overall, they were happy with the result, and commended the pastry which they described as “thin”, “well baked”, “crispy” and “good”. While they liked the taste of the filling, which one judge said was zesty, for the most part they felt the pies could do with slightly more of the good stuff.
Price: R45.99 for six
SECOND PLACE
Pick n Pay
What the judges said:
The panel thought Pick n Pay’s pies presented well and looked to be evenly baked. One judge felt the bottom pastry was slightly underbaked but, for the most part, the panel felt the pastry work was good: thin and crispy with a nice, soft crumble. The filling was commendable with descriptions like “slightly dry but fruity”, “well-balanced” and “nice and spicy”.
Price: R43.99 for six
THIRD PLACE
Woolworths
What the judges said:
On looks alone, Woolworths’ pies did very well. They had an even, “perfect” look. The pastry, however, was overworked and dry and words like “bready” were used to describe the texture. The ratio of filling to pastry was also out, with the judges saying there was too much pastry for filling. They also thought the filling lacked sufficient flavour. One judge said it was a pie that was clearly commercially made.
Price: R54.99 for six
FOURTH PLACE
Checkers
What the judges said:
Visually, the bake of the pie and lid of the pastry appeared to be uneven, a quality that translated into the taste of the pastry, which was too thin, soft and undercooked. The judges felt the filling was raisin-heavy, somewhat acidic and lacked a “traditional” taste.
Price: R44.99 for six
FIFTH PLACE
Food Lover’s Market
What the judges said:
These pies both appeared and turned out to be underbaked. One judge thought it looked handmade as the top was slightly too big. The pastry also lacked a butter-like flavour and was bland. “Not juicy” are words used by one judge to describe both the pastry and the filling. The consensus was that while the filling was sufficient in quantity it was dry. In summary, one panellist said: “This pie is the reason people don’t like mince pies.”
Price: R44.99 for six
INDEPENDENT BAKERIES
FIRST PLACE
The Pantry (Rosebank)
What the judges said:
The pies looked good and appeared neat but the judges agreed that the pastry was rolled out too thick, although it was well flavoured. The filling was good, but the judges felt it lacked taste, commenting that it was “easy to eat” but “underwhelming”. One judge thought it looked like it had been made by a friend who is not yet 100% confident in their baking prowess.
Price: R120 for six
SECOND PLACE
Glenda’s (Hyde Park)
What the judges said:
Visually, these were the most unusual-looking pies of the day. Made as bite-sized pies, the judges thought they looked homemade but liked the smaller size. One commented that it offered the perfect post-dinner mouthful if you didn’t want to eat a whole mince pie. Unfortunately, the puff pastry was overworked, which made for a tough chew. The filling, however, redeemed it. The judges liked the spice and zest as well as the consistency and thought it was the best filling of the day.
Price: R150 for ten
THIRD PLACE
Fresh Earth (Randburg)
What the judges said:
We felt it only fair to tell the judges that this was a gluten-free pie. They thought it looked neat and smelled good but the pastry was crumbly and lacked structure. The flavour was fair but the taste was described as “standard”. One judge felt that it couldn't compare with the other pies given it’s gluten-free recipe. That said, it didn’t rank last.
Price: R64 for four
FOURTH PLACE
Patisserie de Paris (Blairgowrie )
What the judges said:
This unique-looking pie did not impress the judges who said the lid was too thick and the filling had boiled over. Overall, it did not look professional. Although the judges didn’t like the Christmas tree pastry work, the base pastry was described as good, albeit bland. The filling was overly zesty, with an overpowering, bitter orange taste.
Price: R72 for six
FIFTH PLACE
Bread Alone (Randburg)
What the judges said:
The consensus was that this looked like a pot pie and was not visually appealing. The judges picked up on what appeared to be two types of pastry for the base and the lid. They commented that the base pastry had a savoury taste while the lid was too thick. They also felt the filling lacked flavour and was overpowered by chunks of apple. They were disappointed and struggled to find positive characteristics.
Price: R51 for six
The Sunday Times Christmas mince pie taste test cracks TV!
The Home Channel filmed this year's Sunday Times Christmas mince pie taste test and will be sharing the experience with viewers in the coming days. Keep an eye on DStv Channel 176 for a look behind the scenes and for more insight on who the judges are, what they expected from the perfect mince pie and what their comments were on this year's selection.
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