ALL THINGS FESTIVE
It’s the most anticipated tasting of the year, the annual search for the best-tasting mince pie, Christmas cake and Christmas pudding from five of the big retailers. As such, we brought in the big guns, a group of top chefs: the executive chef of the five
Traditional mince pies 1. Checkers
Festive Mince Pies 360g
R36.99 for six
Chef Flatscher: Very nicely baked crust. Nice colour, good acidity.
Chef Mulry: Pastry perfect, not too sweet. Filling moist and wholesome. Chef Adonis: Pastry to filling ratio is perfect. Pastry has great colour and texture and is well baked..
2. Woolworths
Fruit Mince Pies R39.99 for six
Chef Mulry: Nice lemon tang. Moist filling but not enough of it.
Chef Maruping: Good golden colour, pastry well cooked, not soggy at the bottom. Consistency of filling is good, not runny.
Chef Brunner: Soft pastry, great tasty filling. Maybe a little more filling required.
3. Pick n Pay
Deep Filled Mince Pies R39.99 for six
Chef Jacobs: Filling is tasty and fruity but not sure about the pastry. There’s too much margarine in it.
Chef Adonis: Filling is juicy and delicious. Pastry tastes like margarine. Amazing filling but pastry lets it down.
Chef Brunner: Most tasty filling, but the pastry leaves an aftertaste in the mouth.
4. Food Lover’s Market
Traditional Fruited Mince Pies R38.99 for six
Chef Mulry: Pastry too thick and overworked. Mincemeat filling has shrunk, more like a puree.
Chef Adonis: Pastry is doughy, no texture and not enough mincemeat.
Chef Brunner: Pastry looks overworked, doesn’t hold its shape and very stodgy.
5. Spar
FRESHLINE R34.99 for six
Chef Flatscher: Underbaked, with runny filling.
Chef Jacobs: Pastry is undercooked and there’s too little mincemeat.
Chef Mulry: Not enough filling, pastry is soggy and the pies have sunk in the middle.
Iced Christmas cake 1. Pick n Pay
Luxury Iced Brandy Fruit Cake 1kg, R199.99
Chef Jacobs: The best of the lot we’ve tasted but nothing special.
Chef Maruping: The cake looks perfect but is very dry.
Chef Mulry: The best of the lot, nicely presented.
2. Woolworths
Iced Brandy Fruit Cake R159.99
Chef Adonis: Crumbly texture and overwhelming almond essence flavour. Chef Brunner: Looks a bit pale, texture moist but lacking in flavour.
Chef Maruping: Texture is too crumbly and falling apart. I can pick up the alcohol.
3. Spar
Freshline Iced Christmas Fruit Cake 900g, R119.99
Chef Jacobs: There’s a funny taste in the cake, not sure what it is. Chef Brunner: The cake leaves a bitter aftertaste.
Chef Maruping: The cake tastes unpalatable.
4. Checkers
Iced Festive Fruit Cake 800g, R109.99
Chef Jacobs: Crumbly and dry, the taste is not good,
Chef Brunner: It is very crumbly and not up to standard.
Chef Maruping: Crumbly but moist and I can’t pick up any spices.
5. Food Lover’s market
Iced Fruit Cake 1kg, R129.99
Chef Flatscher: The cake is not baked through, it has a raw centre.
Chef Mulry: This cake is raw and needs to be taken off the shelf immediately.
Chef Brunner: This cake is not baked through and is raw inside. It’s a no-no.
Christmas pudding
The puddings were judged individually as they weren’t all the same.
1. Pick n Pay
Luxury Christmas Pudding 900g, R249.99
Rating 6/10
Chef Mulry: Citrus flavour but quite stodgy, although nice taste. Chef Flatscher: A good-looking pudding. Chef Adonis: Tasty, a bit mushy but good flavour. Nice orange flavour. Juicy.
2. Woolworths
Christmas Brandy Fruit Pudding 900g, R199.99
Rating 5.5/10
Chef Jacobs: Flavour is OK but there’s a bitter aftertaste.
Chef Brunner: Very stodgy. Fruit comes through nicely and the spices are evident. Chef Adonis: A bit stodgy but offers a decent flavour.
3. Spar
Christmas Pudding 400g, R119.99
Rating: 5/10
Chef Maruping: Looks too dark and stodgy.
Chef Flatscher: A very dark pudding. Chef Adonis: A good texture, nice and spongy but lacks when it comes to flavour.
4. Checkers
Festive Steamed Pudding 400g, R89.99 4.5/10
Chef Maruping:
Looks good, fruit is evenly distributed but it leaves a fatty aftertaste and the raisins are burnt.
Looks good although no taste of spice. Left a lingering unpleasant aftertaste.
Chef Adonis:
Chef Brunner:
It tastes bitter, leaving not a pleasant aftertaste.
5. Food Lover’s market
Christmas Fruit Pudding 400g, R89.99
Rating: 4/10
Chef Maruping: Texture is strodgy/bready. It is unpalatable.
Chef Mulry: Dry and crumbly.
Chef Adonis: Awful, this pud has not a lot of aromatics.
Non-traditional mince pies
A couple of the stores are offering alternatives to the mince pie. As they were different the pies were judged individually. This year Spar is stocking only a traditional mince pie and at the time of the tasting Woolworths had only the traditional mince pie, in standard and mini sizes, on its shelves.
1. Pick n Pay
Honey Burst Mince Pies
R34.99 for four
Rating: 7/10
Chef Mulry: Pastry very nice and buttery. I get the citrus but not the honey.
Chef Flatscher: The star design on top gives it a special festive effect.
Chef Brunner: Love the pastry and the star on top, it tastes like orange marmalade.
2. Checkers
Blueberry Fruit Mince Pies
R34.99 for four
Rating: 6.5/10
Chef Maruping: Pastry is well cooked, filling tastes like it is has been flavoured.
Chef Jacobs: Pastry was good, the filling was a bit dry and not fruity enough.
Chef Adonis: Artificial blueberry taste but pastry is great.
3. Checkers
Gluten- Free Mince Pies
R54.99 for six
Rating: 6/10
Chef Mulry: Very light-coloured pastry that is quite grainy.
Chef Jacobs: Tastes too dry and slight grainy. Chef Maruping: Pastry is chewy and pale.
4. Food Lover’s Market
Fruited Mince Pies with Blueberries
R39.99 for four
Rating: 5/10
Chef Mulry: Below-average filling which is insufficient and the pastry is very thick.
Chef Brunner: Filling lacks flavour of blueberries and the pastry is underbaked. Chef Maruping: Pastry is cracked, leaf on top is not cut nicely. Filling is dry.
5. Pick n Pay
Free From Gluten Fruit Mince Pies
R58.99 for six
Rating: 4/10
Chef Flatscher: Very crumbly pastry, strange-tasting filling.
Chef Brunner: The pie can’t be handled it’s that crumbly and not a great taste.
Chef Jacobs: Doesn’t leave good mouthfeel.