Christmas how cheap is too cheap? Aldi Mince Pies

€1.68 for 6

That mince pie looks like a bit of an under-achiever. I can only assume you bought it at a low, low price?

I wouldn’t say low,low, but certainly below my budget. Sadly though, it’s not a true bargain buy. Tesco was all out, so I had to head to Aldi. Another student favourite, but if we’re being honest, Aldi has that bit more pizzazz and culture.

But the mince pie… tell me about the mince pie.

Well, it does look a little insipid, but it has a generous dusting of sugar on top- an addition which I doubt Tesco Value would have plumped for. And it doesn’t look like it came straight from the factory either. You could probably pretend your granny made these. Heck, if you’re throwing a party, you could probably pretend you made them.

Does it taste homemade though, or does it have a manufactured tang?

A bit of both. The pastry is nice and thick, but the fruit inside has a distinct crunchiness that is a bit unnerving. What is crunchy about stewed and minced fruit, Aldi? The overall taste is very tangy, which I wasn’t expecting at all. It was kind of an unpleasant surprise, in fact.

Would you serve these to your mates, or would you just throw them at your enemies?

Well, because they look the part, I’d certainly display them on a nice decorative plate or something. But I’d probably try to deter my guests from actually eating them. While there’s nothing hugely off-putting about the taste, it’s just a bit… odd. And ‘odd’ is a word that should never really be used when talking about food. Especially food that you plan to serve others.

So, should you have stuck to Tesco Value?

Price-wise, Tesco Value mince pies are about 70c cheaper, meaning I could get almost double the amount of pies for my money. But I’ve heard rumours that the Tesco Value pies are pale and crinkly looking. And when it comes to food, ‘crinkly’ is an even worse word than ‘odd’.