I was in London yesterday attending a friends birthday celebrations. I don't venture into London very often, so took the opportunity to visit Harrods and pick up some of their mince pies. Now, you will notice that I did not buy last year's winners, the alcohol free cranberry mince pies as they were exactly the same; from box design to ingredients.
There was no point reviewing an already amazing mince pie - it just didn't seem like a good use of my time and yours - plus I'm sure you want to know more about a new mince pie. So, if you want to know how Harrods' Alcohol Free Cranberry Mince Pies tasted check out last years review. This year, we have a new entry from Harrods.
Presentation - 9 / 10
Subtle, simple, but still festive. The clear plastic box lets the mince pies do the selling rather than the decoration on the box. It's how it should be!
Nutritional Content and Price - 3 / 10
Harrods have gone to the effort of making a label listing all the ingredients including the percentages of each, but decided not to list the nutritional values. I have a feeling these may be made and baked in store, but how can they be certain that each mince pie are exactly those percentages....
At £9.95 a box, they are more expensive than last years cranberry filled ones, but they do appear much deeper.
Pastry - 15 / 35
Not happy here, I like the crispy top layer, which is covered in walnut and almond pieces, but below that, you've got a powdery, dry, sweet mulch. As this is a big mince pie, you've got a lot of this pastry to get through.
Mincemeat - 20 / 35
A better filling, but not by much. It is bursting with flavour. There is a huge nut influence which comes through well along with apples and sultanas; the honey is lost a little amongst this. Unfortunately, all these flavours come in the form of a liquidised, dry, paste, which does not go well with the already powdery pastry.
Overall Satisfaction - 4 / 10
Harrods!! What on earth happened here. This is almost the complete opposite to your cranberry mince pies. This actually reminds me of Fortnum and Masons mince pie from last year.. which we all know didn't do too well. Maybe I should have bought the cranberry ones - I'd have certainly enjoyed them more.
OVERALL SCORE - 51 / 100
Look at where these fit in on our leader board.
(Don't forget to follow us on twitter @TheMincePieBlog, Facebook and Google+ to ensure you don't miss out on new reviews.)
There was no point reviewing an already amazing mince pie - it just didn't seem like a good use of my time and yours - plus I'm sure you want to know more about a new mince pie. So, if you want to know how Harrods' Alcohol Free Cranberry Mince Pies tasted check out last years review. This year, we have a new entry from Harrods.
Presentation - 9 / 10
Subtle, simple, but still festive. The clear plastic box lets the mince pies do the selling rather than the decoration on the box. It's how it should be!
Nutritional Content and Price - 3 / 10
Harrods have gone to the effort of making a label listing all the ingredients including the percentages of each, but decided not to list the nutritional values. I have a feeling these may be made and baked in store, but how can they be certain that each mince pie are exactly those percentages....
At £9.95 a box, they are more expensive than last years cranberry filled ones, but they do appear much deeper.
Pastry - 15 / 35
Not happy here, I like the crispy top layer, which is covered in walnut and almond pieces, but below that, you've got a powdery, dry, sweet mulch. As this is a big mince pie, you've got a lot of this pastry to get through.
Mincemeat - 20 / 35
A better filling, but not by much. It is bursting with flavour. There is a huge nut influence which comes through well along with apples and sultanas; the honey is lost a little amongst this. Unfortunately, all these flavours come in the form of a liquidised, dry, paste, which does not go well with the already powdery pastry.
Overall Satisfaction - 4 / 10
Harrods!! What on earth happened here. This is almost the complete opposite to your cranberry mince pies. This actually reminds me of Fortnum and Masons mince pie from last year.. which we all know didn't do too well. Maybe I should have bought the cranberry ones - I'd have certainly enjoyed them more.
OVERALL SCORE - 51 / 100
Look at where these fit in on our leader board.
(Don't forget to follow us on twitter @TheMincePieBlog, Facebook and Google+ to ensure you don't miss out on new reviews.)
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