I’ve just had my first mince pie of the season

[ZanyMaker]

As the title says - I’ve just had my first mince pie of the season!

Has anyone else indulged yet? I had a Lidl Deluxe, very tasty. Will limit my household (DH and me) to one box in Sept and one in Oct so not to be sick of them come actual Christmas time.

Put your recommendations here!

None in my Tesco - I went looking today …DH and I think that Tesco finest are the best.

Got some Sainsbury Bakery ones - delicious .
I will probably freeze some for later .

There’s a bakery near-ish that does lovely mince pies. I haven’t been to see if they’ve got any yet but this thread makes me think I should.

What a coincidence, I have just had my first mince pie of the season and up pops this thread!

I saw them while I was getting some shopping in Iceland.

To be honest , I don't consider them a Christmas food as such , but treat food that happens to only be available at certain times of the year .

I did enjoy it .

Fully agree - I don’t see mince pies, pannetonne as Christmas food and eating them in September doesn’t seem ‘wrong’ to me. If they were available I would eat them all year round - of course sporadically, not constantly!

Plenty of mince pies, Christmas puddings etc in Tesco. I bought a box of reindeer cakes this morning.

Yes, exactly.

And I bought this packet from Iceland, which I think has a lot of stock they only sell seasonally , despite it not strictly being seasonal food.

This is silly. Mince pies and everything else christmassy belong in November and December. Come on. It completely destroys the magic of the season.

I assure you, I can still enjoy the ‘actual’ Christmas period despite having had a mince pie in September 😂

I wonder who decided to link mince pies to Christmas?! Probably some marketer who decided it was more efficient to make/sell a lot of something over a short time period rather than sell the same amount over an entire year.

Twas delicious 😋

I don’t have proper mince pies until December, as they help get me in the Christmas mood! But I do try out all the different flavour variations, including the chocolate brownie mince pies from M&S, and also the mince pie doughnuts from Morrisons.

Mince pies were a Christmas speciality long before supermarkets and big food manufacturers existed! Food as rich as that was kept for feasts and celebrations in centuries past. Ordinary people would only be able to afford to buy dried fruits and spices once or twice a year, and Christmas (mince pies, Christmas pudding, Christmas cake) and Easter (simnel cake, hot cross buns) were the obvious times.

I make ours on Christmas Eve. I made the mincemeat quite recently and as it contains a great deal of brandy it will be quite happy sitting in the cupboard till then. While we wait I might just sample the M&S range over the autumn. Love mince pies.

I was so tempted to buy a four pack of co op bakery ones today, I love mince pies. Enjoy.

M&s has everything out even advent calendars

Weren't they traditionally meant to be eaten in the weeks / months after Christmas?

Sweet mincemeat is a way of preserving fruit.

Fruitcake will keep for absolutely ages if stored correctly and mince pies have a a fairly long shelf life.

Ladt year i rationed myself to one a week and to be honest I didn't really enjoy them. This year I have an additional medical condition so literally every Christmas treat is off the menu. I may make an exception on Christmas day and have a few Lidl lobster cocktail crisps if they do them this year. Can't even have pigs in blankets. Let alone cranberry sauce, bread sauce, Christmas pudding ,chocolate etc. Unless we get something during dialysis., as that never makes it through our bloodstream.

I'm craving the Tesco iced ones. I do have to go to Tesco tomorrow so some might end up in my trolley.

I hope you enjoy whatever treats you are able to have when you have them. x

As much as I love a mince pie I do find the iced one a little too sweet - but enjoy whatever you get 😀

I my own mincemeat and have it on a yearly rotation so that it can steep in all the alcohol. And then I make them all year round for my father-in-law who absolutely loves them. But he hates Christmas. Means my house regularly smells of Christmas.

Booths has stacks of them. I’m fuming! DH and I were saying we can’t believe anyone buys them so early… but now we know who does OP!

Morrisons deep filled 3 days ago. Merry Christmas!

Urgh, having been mocked by my family for buying some in September, my daughter and husband polished the last of them off this afternoon. I shall have to put more on my shop this week!

I’m sorry @FunnyOrcai don’t understand your logic? How could one become “sick of them by Christmas”? I think i genuinely put on a stone each year solely from Mince Pies

I've bought some 'mini' ones!

Got to save the 'big boys' for December! 😁