To have never tried mince pies?

[hillfda]

I've never tried a mince pie and I'm going to try one for the first time this Christmas. What is it about them? Do you eat them alone or with an extra?

I was at least 30 before I tried one.

Someone brought warm home made mini ones into work and they smelled amazing.

I’ve made up for it since.

Costco do nice sponge topped ones and I like the icing topped ones too.

Homemade mince pies are the biz! I use shop bought mincemeat but add finely chopped apple. I also make two batches, one for the children and one for me and DH - the adult ones have port and orange zest added, which is absolutely heavenly. I might try a blob of jersey black butter this year, as @HowFastIsTooFast suggests - I absolutely adore that stuff and always have a pot on the go, so I don’t know why it never occurred to me before to stick some in my mince pies. Genius idea!

@FortunesFave

Bloody awful things they are. And I love fruit cake and similar...but pies filled with sloppy, gritty fruit ... NO!

Shouldn't buy cheap ones then!

@Avacadoandtoast

With a cup of tea! Yum!

That's what I was going to say. Don't attempt to eat a mince pie without a cuppa.

@Ginfordinner

I think mince pies are quite a grown up taste. I didn't like them as a child. I'm not a huge fan of Christmas cake though and buy a small one as I can't make one small enough.

I do think that fruit cakes are preferred by older people jusging by the wedding threads.

I liked them as a child, for as long as I can remember.

I don't think it's older people as an age thing (in the way olives or capers or anchovies may be), but it may be a generational thing - when I was growing up, there was much of the "eat what you're given" mentality, and it wasn't the norm to make separate meals that the children would like, or to adapt the adult meals to suit the children's tastes. It was assumed that if you were hungry you would eat. And with fewer between-meal snacks, we were hungry come lunch time.
So you ate a wide range (admittedly the range of what was available was smaller than today), got used to the idea that you wouldn't necessarily like what was for tea, but because you couldn't avoid things you just didn't like the look of, you perhaps got to like things that, left to yourself, you would never have tried. If there's a big iced Christmas cake on the table, and no chocolate log, then you may be more likely to give the Christmas cake a go.

And is there a general presumption today that children won't like dried fruit? I've seen friends steer children away from anything with dried fruit.

I remember my mum telling me we were at my grannies house when I was about 3 or 4 she sat me down next to a plate of mice pies my granny had made. Apparently I ate about 5!!! Everyone was so shocked as they were quite rich I just couldnt get enough! Still to this day! I love them, my daughter weirdly is the same. She probably had her first one at about 2 and she was hooked too. She loves raisins and dried fruit so maybe that's why she likes them. She also loves Christmas pudding! (We obviously only gave her a few spoonfuls of that) but she was really into it. Someone once offered her a chocolate snowman lolly, and she said 'can I have a mince pie instead?' Haha.
My favourites are the mini ones from waitrose but I literally can eat any, home made, lidl or m&s I love them all Haha. I tend to stick to the classic flavour though, I'm not a big fan of when they make them orangey or anything.
Go for it with a nice glass of mulled wine!!

I do not think there's any presumption that children dont like dried fruit where I live. Little snack boxes of raisins or cranberries are the sugary treat of choice for toddlers.

And is there a general presumption today that children won't like dried fruit? I've seen friends steer children away from anything with dried fruit

Oh really? The nursery mums around here only allow their kids to eat dried fruit, not sweets (like a dried date is any better than a jelly tot). Fruit yoyos seem to be very popular, and they are just dried fruit. And most children like Sunmaid raisins in the little box (I hated them, still do, but DS loves them).

Anyway, back to mince pies. Buy a good quality one (M&S, taste the difference, basically not a Tesco Value one). Mini ones are a good option if you aren’t sure - they are bite size so can be swallowed quickly if you don’t like it.

The multipack ones with assorted pastry toppings (normal, frangipane, etc) are actually really nice, but avoid novelty-flavoured mincemeat (chocolate mince pies etc).

Shop bought are bitter for some reason. Delia's recipe is the only one for me.

Waitrose flakey pastry ones, warmed up in the oven, or the mini shortcrust pastry ones warmed on the woodburner (I don't have a woodburner which limits this as I have to do that at my Dads and then he steals most of the pies for he is a pie theiving old man.)

Not about mince pies, but chocolate is far less damaging to tiny teeth than raisins.

Yes, I knew that. A dentist told my friend off for giving her children raisins.

I microwave mine for about ten secs then enjoy with nothing else but brandy butter / cream goes nicely!

Eat all the mince pies with pouring cream I can easily eat a whole box my blood sugars hate it and I need so much insulin
They have to be warm though aldi do a salted caramel version they are good too
Asda do a puff pastry one amazing eat all the pies and get in ma belly 😂

Mmm I want one now. Slightly warmed in microwave with a bit of cream or ice cream

Slightly warmed, then lift the lid and tuck some brandy butter inside. You want the brandy butter to start to melt, but not melt so much that it dribbles over your chin when you eat.

Am I the only one who actually loves the cheap supermarket ones? I've had 3 today...

Proper warm homemade ones are amazing. Hate shop bought ones.

I want mince pie now!

I’ve just had one. Food of the gods. I start buying them as soon as they hit the shops.

They're nicest warmed with a little dollop of cream. Basically they're like a raisiny, cinnamon flavoured apple pie. Bon appetit!

Most shop-bought mince pies are awful, with thick craggy pastry and a sickly-sweet filling.

Proper home-made ones are delicious, though. Best served still warm from the oven with a big mug of strong tea.

I didn’t realise there were so many people out there that hate mince pies. I’ve always liked them from being a child, although generally had family homemade ones. I agree that Mr Kipling etc. aren’t worth bothering with.

I generally have them as they come with a coffee but they are lovely as a dessert warmed up with brandy/rum butter or cream.

Love them. Even shop bought ones. So do 2 of my kids.

Oh goodness no, don’t do it! No no no no!! 🤣