Taste test

If you haven’t made your own by now, you’re probably not going to get around to it. We tested some of the commercial mincemeats to see which would be the closest to home-made, so that you can impress the in-laws with your domestic skills.

Dunnes Stores Simply Better Rich Fruit Mincemeat, 320g, €3.99, 9/10

Our testers loved this mincemeat, which is made by Foods of Athenry in Galway for Dunnes’ Simply Better range. It’s crammed with fruit and nuts, flavoured with stout and has gentle spicing and a nice sharpness that cuts through the richness. Made with vegetable suet, containing sustainable palm oil.

Kilmurry Jams, 340g, €3.95, 8/10

This mincemeat is “home-made” by a small producer in Kilmacanogue, Co Wicklow, and has a nice short list of ingredients compared to most of the others we tested. The flavour of cloves is prominent and margarine is the fat. M&S Classic Mincemeat, 510g, €3, 7/10

The best value of the mincemeats that we tested and ideal for anyone with a large number of mince pies to make. The lack of nuts disappointed some of our testers, but the spicing is good. Suitable for vegetarians, but does contain palm oil.

The Foods of Athenry Fruity Mincemeat, 330g, €4.99, 7/10 Sweeter and more spiced than the version the company makes for Dunnes, our testers liked this mincemeat, but balked at the hefty price, significant for those making a large quantity of mince pies. Made with 11 different fruits and nuts, using vegetable suet containing sustainable palm oil.

Lakeshore Luxury Mincemeat, 325g, €2.79, 5/10

Our testers found this mincemeat overly sweet and would have liked some nuts to be included with the vine fruits and apple. Made with vegetable suet containing nonhydrogenated palm oil.