Everyone has their favourite brand of mince pie. But would you be able to pick yours out of a line-up? Why not host your own mince pie taste test party and find out?!
- Family Friendly
- Time & Effort
- Supplies Needed
Mince Pie Taste Test Parties have been a firm favourite in our family for quite some year!
We love this fun, tasty festive activity. It’s the perfect multi-generational entertainment for a lazy afternoon when you want to hunker down at home and is suitable for all group sizes. It can even be played over Zoom!
Below, we’ll explain how to set up the taste test so that everyone (even the organiser) can join in. And, what’s more, we’ve got a FREE printable tasting chart ready for you to download and use.
Note: we’re focussing here on our original, tried-and-tested mince pie taste test. However, it doesn’t just have to be mince pies that stand trial!
There are no end of Christmas foods that warrant the full examination in our opinion … yule logs, pigs-in-blankets or even festive crisp flavours to name but a few. (And yes, okay, we admit it’s mainly so we can justify eating more of them.)
Looking for more activities to enjoy? Click here for other fun ideas.
You’ll Never Look At A Mince Pie The Same Way Again!
Taste Test Details
In our opinion, there are two key parts to a mince pie taste test. Both aspects are equally important and just as fun. But we warn you: you’ll bever look at a mince pie the same way again!
Rating The Pie!
First, it’s time to assess the mince pies individually to see which is favourite.
Not to get too Paul Hollywood about it, but it’s the aroma, texture and ratio of pastry to filling, as well as the all-important flavour.
Guessing The Brand
Then put yourself and your friends to the test to see you can guess which mince pie came from which supermarket.
Can you spot a ‘high-end’ pie when the packaging has been removed?!
yum yum yum!
How To Host A Mince Pie Taste Test Party
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Let’s sprinkle Christmas cheer far and wide!
What You’ll Need
- Mince pies(!) – see below for more details
- Plates or festive napkins – as many as you have types of mince pie, ideally all identical to avoid accidental assistance!
- Scissors, sellotape, sharp knife
- Piece of paper, cut into the same number of pieces as you have types of mince pie.
- Glasses of water for all (or mulled wine if you’d prefer … this is for fun after all, not Which? magazine!)
- Lots of pens
- A Jolly Festive mince pie tasting chart for each participant
Let’s Talk Mince Pie Selection!
Collect together as many different brand packets of mince pies as you can.
We recommend sticking to the standard offering from each supermarket for the traditional test. But feel free to add the all-butter and other indulgent varieties to see how they compare. Why not include some homemade pies, or ones from your local bakery as well?
Or, as an alternative approach to the taste test described here, you could specifically select the more unusually flavoured mince pies, and try and guess the extra ingredients in each.
Setting Up The Mince Pie Taste Test
1. Prepare The Plates
- Take a couple of mince pies and cut them into equal pieces. We’d recommend six pieces per pie: partly because mince pie is very rich but also the smaller pieces help to disguise any distinctive styling to the top of the pie. Do make sure each piece has a good amount of both pastry and filling.
- Place the pie pieces on a plate or napkin.
- Cut out a piece of the packaging with the brand name (and variety if necessary) and stick it with sellotape to the bottom of the plate.
- Place the finished plate on a table.
2. Add The Plates To The Table
- Ask someone else to muddle the plates up whilst you are looking away. If you have an non-participating organiser, you can skip this step.
- Count the total number of plates and cut a sheet of paper into that many pieces.
- Write each number, from one to the total, on a different piece of paper.
- Place one number on each of the plates. Again, we would recommend doing this in a random fashion in order to give one final mix-up to the pies.
- Line the packets of mince pies used up somewhere visible so that everyone can see the contenders, or prepare a list to place in the middle of the table if you’d prefer.
- Hand everyone a pen, tasting chart and glass of water (or wine!) and get busy tasting!
More Like This?
Looking for other festive activities to enjoy? Whether it’s at home or out and about, we’ve got a whole host of ideas to keep you in the Christmas spirit!
free printable!
Mince Pie Tasting Chart
Get Your FREE Printable Tasting Chart
Here’s your free printable mince pie tasting chart. Good for up to ten mince pie contenders! (Two tasting charts per page.)
We’d love to know which mince pie brand was the winner in your taste test. Share your results in the comments below.
Which other festive foods have you given the taste-test treatment? For more Christmas fun at home, click here.
Share Your Adventure!
Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram @jollyfestive.
And be sure to tag #jollyfestive in your photos. We love to see which Christmas activities you’ve been enjoying!
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Ok…thoughts on how best to run this as a Zoom-based activity for a work team?
I’m thinking one brand a week – needs to be easy to source wherever you’re based. Other rules/guidelines?
A xx
Wow, we love the idea of using the mince pie taste test as a fun work team activity, Alison! Great question re spreading it out over a few weeks. What about using the weekly tests to identify the top three contenders and then have a special last week where they are all put head-to-head? Don’t forget to check out our latest post for a whole host of other online activities to try as well! Have fun!