rootring
rooted in blogs, linked in a ringAiee! Run From Kelvin's Brainsplurge!
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On the ring since 2026-07-17
Latest activity 22mo ago
1463 posts
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I'm certain I will be consuming more mince pies and mince pie related items in the coming days and weeks, but the testing is over. THE BEST NATIONALLY AVAILABLE MINCE PIE OF...
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BBC Four started a repeat run of The Box of Delights yesterday. I have fond but vague memories of the programme from its first broadcast -- 40 years ago! -- and I was excited...
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The Greggs vegan sausage roll is rightly famous, but are the mince pies any good? The pastry looks a bit anaemic, and so it proves in terms of taste, with a decent texture but...
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No picture of the box, as they are bakery fresh, so here's a picture of the shop, which is sort of a big brick and concrete box, if you think about it. The pastry is firm, and...
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The last of the supermarket chain pies, these are apparently "improved". Let's see. The pastry has a good, firm texture, and a slightly salty taste. I'm generally not a big fan...
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DID YOU THINK IT WAS OVER? It's not over! We found these in a corner shop, but most corner shops are part of a chain these days, and this chain is basically Tesco-in-Disguise,...
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First of all, I am not being compelled or forced to do this, at least not by any external agent. This is all about acknowledging my mistake. When the allegations about Mandy...
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Unprecedented! We have a tie at the top*, which has never happened before. So, for the first time ever, we enter a SECOND ROUND. The "finalists": COOP Irresistible, Holly Lane,...
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Well. Here we go. The champions of 2021. The champions of 2022. The champions of 2023. The champions of 2024? The pastry strikes the perfect balance between firm and soft, with...
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Merry. The Tesco ones were called "merry" too. I wonder if that's an established nomenclature and I've just not been paying attention. Imagine the scandal. Anyway. The pastry...
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These chunky pies have a pastry that's a touch too firm for me, tipping over into a biscuity crunch, of which I am not fond. The filling is much better, with a nice fruity...
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The pastry has a bit of a salty taste, and I'm not a fan of salt, but otherwise it has a decent flavour and a good, firm, texture. The filling is beautiful! While it lacks any...
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I have drawn three pieces today, and this -- with no hint of irony or self-deprecation -- is the best of them all.
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These often get picked as the best supermarket mince pies by the gutter press, so let's see. The pastry has a good texture, firm but also soft, but is maybe a touch too sweet....
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I do not like the pastry on these mince pies at all. AT ALL. Crunchy and far too sugary (which doesn't help with the crunch), I suppose at least it's not too dry. But it's not...
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M&S classic. They look as dry as Jack Dee doing a gig in the Atacama Desert, and the reality is not far off. The pastry feels and tastes like wood and although there's a nice,...
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"Exceptional"? That's quite the boast, bold given the last lot. I love the pastry on these pies; chunky and thick, with a good, wholesome "bite", no unpleasant crunch, and a...
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Look, mummy, look at all the glittery sugar! The filling has an almost savoury flavour that is quite interesting, but the taste fades quickly, and alas is steamrollered into...
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I honestly thought we'd found an early winner. The pastry has a lovely texture, just the right balance between soft and firm, with a nice crumble and a light, sweet taste. The...
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I want to love this book. It's very handsome and well designed, and it's (mostly) exhaustive. It is in many ways, lovely. But. The lead writer isn't very good. He has an...
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The pastry is firmish, but not unpleasantly so, and isn't as sweet as that highly visible sugar suggests. Meanwhile, the filling hits you round the chops with a big old...
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I won't mince words (ha ha), these are bland, as the kids say, AF. The pastry has a decent texture, maybe a touch too soft, but is dry and claggy, like a mouthful of dust. The...
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Ooh fancy! I've not seen these before. These have a good texture, firm with a bit of crumble, but the pastry doesn't have much flavour. The filling is juicy and rich, but it...
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The Best? I'll be the judge of that. (I think I probably make the same joke every year.) (I'm not sure what's happening in that last photo. Possibly some sort of supernatural...
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Calvin asked about Christmas cake. Here's the sort of tacky but nostalgic thing that comes to mind when I think of Christmas cake: It's basically a dense fruit cake, to which...
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Morrisons. These tend to be pretty good. These pies have a good texture, with a firm but un-crunchy pastry, and a hearty filling that's surprisingly dense for a "cheap" pie....
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For reasons I cannot fathom, these are usually quite difficult to find, selling out quickly and getting restocked fairly late. Not so this year. No idea why. The pastry has a...
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Where is Holly Lane? Who knows? Not I. These pies have a lovely soft, sweet pastry, and a fruity, tasty filling, with a surprising richness for a "basic" (£1.25 per box) pie....
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IT BEGINS. The cyclopean ceramite bunker doors of the Top Secret Mince Pie Testing Centre™ creak open once more. Children weep, but not as much as my waistline. Sainsbury's!...
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I dug out my copy of The Dark Knight Returns the other day, prompted in part by an online discussion about Batman comics, and because I hadn't read it in over ten years. I...