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Not-as-official-as-it-could-be GBAtemp.net review of the...
Rowan Hill Bakery
Deep Filled Mince Pies
aka: The nicest-looking mince pies LIDL sells
Manufactured by: Rowan Hill Bakery (owned by LIDL)
Review samples supplied by: Sinkhead
By Sinkhead - 16th December 2007
Review Contents & Index:
I was hungry but I had no money, so I went to LIDL, and among all the tramps and pregnant chavettes I found what I was looking for. Mince Pies
Now, I didn't realize this before but apparently Mince Pies are a very English thing, so I'll explain what they are for all those foreigners. It's not actually mincemeat in the pies, it's a mixture of apples, raisins, sultanas, currants, orange peel, apricot, mixed spice, dextrose salt and invert sugar syrup. Yummy. Surrounding that delectable mixture is a pastry case, hence mince pie. This is often topped off with a dusting of sugar, and in this case, a pastry pattern. They are eaten traditionally at Christmas, but they taste good all year round.
Official Feature List:
The box of the pies is an almost browny-purple, with your typical completely-different-from-what-they-actually-look-like product pictures. There is a small chart showing how healthy they are for you, the weight of the box (595g) and a small see-through window so you can inspect the product before you buy them.
On the back, in 4 different languages, are the instructions, allergy information, storage information, nutrition information and heating instructions. It' good to see multi-language support, however I suspect this was done so the pies can be sold in many different countries without changing the box. The languages currently supported are English, German, French and Italian, however because I can only read English fluently I can't tell how accurate the other translations are.
Inside the box are two red plastic trays, and one separator, The separator is really useful, as it stops the top rows of pies crushing the bottom ones, and it works rather well. Each pie arrives in it's own little foil dish, which can sometimes be quite fiddly to get off, but if you squeeze slightly at each side, it usually comes off.
Box Contents
Each pie is 6.5cm in diameter on the top, 4 on the bottom, and 3cm tall. Taking into account the taper at the sides, I calculated that the pie is around 23.8cm3. That's good value for money. The build quality is fairly good, the 6mm pastry keeps the shape of the pie very well, however the pies cannot fit in my mouth all at once. Which is good, because I don't think there would be many left if they could. You get a good 3 to 4 bites out of them. The little crust snaps off very easily, but that doesn't affect the usability of this product. And the little holly leaves on the top make the pies look rather appetising.
Setting Up & Using
As I mentioned before, you have to get the pies out of their little foil dishes. Usually this is easy, but when you're trying to extract a pristine pie to photograph, it's quite hard. The crust often snaps off, or the pie cracks, or some other mishap occurs to stop me taking my photo, but you get there in the end. I found that pressing on the bottom of the pie dish is the best way to get a pie out without damaging it.
GUI (OS)
Unfortunately I haven't found a way to connect it to my DS. It doesn't fit in either of the slots, however I suspect that blending one and pouring it down could possibly work. But I don't have a blender.
Performance
Taste
The pies taste nice, however they are fairly sweet. The filling tastes similar to jam. I prefer my mince pies to be slightly less sweet, as you get to taste the fruit more, but that's my opinion. The pastry tastes OK, it's bland, if anything it is sweet, like the filling. The two elements work together nicely, you can taste them both together which is nice.
Texture
The filling is very soft and sticky, and the raisins, currants and sultanas are soft. Not mushy, they still 'pop' in your mouth, which is good. The pastry is fairly crumbly (it's shortcrust pastry) however a thin layer of the filling holds it together well. There are still some seeds in the mixture, which stick in your teeth and are very crunchy. This spoils the pies slightly.
Appearance
The pies are golden-brown, being paler on the top and darker on the crust and embossed holly leaves. The sugar catches the light and makes little shines on top which looks great, however one some of the pies you can see where the lid has not joined onto the sides, indicated by little gaps. These are often hidden by the sugar which, naturally, falls into these, but it still makes the pie look quite cheap.
Aroma
All you can smell is the pastry, which gives a rather bland smell, but once you ut the pies open the filling has a fairly sickly sweet smell. I recommend serving with other ingredients to disguise the smell (see compatibility chart below)
ROM Compatibility
For reasons mentioned above, I can't get it to boot on my DS, so I'll have to try alternative ingredients instead of ROMs.
PASS: Yummy.
PROBLEMS: Sort-of nice, not something you would serve to your friends.
FAIL: Disgusting.
Battery Life Results:
Best before 21st January 2008
Eat within 14 days of opening
Conclusion
If you're poor like me (and Kenny), then these mince pies will be ample, however the luxury models are much better. These ones aren't exactly gourmet, they're a little bit dry and too sweet, but you could do a lot worse.
You should give them a try
Pros
+ Cheap
+ Tasty
Cons
- Too sweet
- Pastry is bland
- They look cheap
External Links:Where to buy?:This review was written for GBAtemp.net ONLY. The article and all included photos are property of GBAtemp.net
If you see this review on any other site please let me know via e-mail - Sinkhead [@at@] GBAtemp [.dot.] net
Deep Filled Mince Pies
aka: The nicest-looking mince pies LIDL sells
Manufactured by: Rowan Hill Bakery (owned by LIDL)
Review samples supplied by: Sinkhead
By Sinkhead - 16th December 2007
Review Contents & Index:
- Introduction
- Official feature list - Packaging and Contents
- Box Contents - Cart Design
- Setting Up & Using
- GUI (OS) - Performance
- ROM compatibility
- Battery life - Conclusion
'Twas the week before Christmas, and in Sinkhead's room,
Sinkhead was stirring, hungry for food.
He lay there nestled, all snug in his bed,
With visions of mince pies inside his head,
When the alarm went BEEP BEEP BEEP
And the poem stopped.
Sinkhead was stirring, hungry for food.
He lay there nestled, all snug in his bed,
With visions of mince pies inside his head,
When the alarm went BEEP BEEP BEEP
And the poem stopped.
I was hungry but I had no money, so I went to LIDL, and among all the tramps and pregnant chavettes I found what I was looking for. Mince Pies
Now, I didn't realize this before but apparently Mince Pies are a very English thing, so I'll explain what they are for all those foreigners. It's not actually mincemeat in the pies, it's a mixture of apples, raisins, sultanas, currants, orange peel, apricot, mixed spice, dextrose salt and invert sugar syrup. Yummy. Surrounding that delectable mixture is a pastry case, hence mince pie. This is often topped off with a dusting of sugar, and in this case, a pastry pattern. They are eaten traditionally at Christmas, but they taste good all year round.
Official Feature List:
- Pastry cases with a mincemeat filling
- 187 calories (9% of your GDA
- )
- 7.5g fat (11% of your GDA)
- 2.6g saturates (1% of your GDA)
- 0.1g salt (2% of your GDA)
- 16.4g sugar (18% of your GDA)
On the back, in 4 different languages, are the instructions, allergy information, storage information, nutrition information and heating instructions. It' good to see multi-language support, however I suspect this was done so the pies can be sold in many different countries without changing the box. The languages currently supported are English, German, French and Italian, however because I can only read English fluently I can't tell how accurate the other translations are.
Inside the box are two red plastic trays, and one separator, The separator is really useful, as it stops the top rows of pies crushing the bottom ones, and it works rather well. Each pie arrives in it's own little foil dish, which can sometimes be quite fiddly to get off, but if you squeeze slightly at each side, it usually comes off.
Box Contents
- 12x Deep filled mince pies
Setting Up & Using
As I mentioned before, you have to get the pies out of their little foil dishes. Usually this is easy, but when you're trying to extract a pristine pie to photograph, it's quite hard. The crust often snaps off, or the pie cracks, or some other mishap occurs to stop me taking my photo, but you get there in the end. I found that pressing on the bottom of the pie dish is the best way to get a pie out without damaging it.
GUI (OS)
Unfortunately I haven't found a way to connect it to my DS. It doesn't fit in either of the slots, however I suspect that blending one and pouring it down could possibly work. But I don't have a blender.
Performance
The pies taste nice, however they are fairly sweet. The filling tastes similar to jam. I prefer my mince pies to be slightly less sweet, as you get to taste the fruit more, but that's my opinion. The pastry tastes OK, it's bland, if anything it is sweet, like the filling. The two elements work together nicely, you can taste them both together which is nice.
Texture
The filling is very soft and sticky, and the raisins, currants and sultanas are soft. Not mushy, they still 'pop' in your mouth, which is good. The pastry is fairly crumbly (it's shortcrust pastry) however a thin layer of the filling holds it together well. There are still some seeds in the mixture, which stick in your teeth and are very crunchy. This spoils the pies slightly.
Appearance
The pies are golden-brown, being paler on the top and darker on the crust and embossed holly leaves. The sugar catches the light and makes little shines on top which looks great, however one some of the pies you can see where the lid has not joined onto the sides, indicated by little gaps. These are often hidden by the sugar which, naturally, falls into these, but it still makes the pie look quite cheap.
Aroma
All you can smell is the pastry, which gives a rather bland smell, but once you ut the pies open the filling has a fairly sickly sweet smell. I recommend serving with other ingredients to disguise the smell (see compatibility chart below)
ROM Compatibility
For reasons mentioned above, I can't get it to boot on my DS, so I'll have to try alternative ingredients instead of ROMs.
PASS: Yummy.
PROBLEMS: Sort-of nice, not something you would serve to your friends.
FAIL: Disgusting.
- Apple sauce
Problem - Far too sweet - Baked Beans
Fail - The pie goes all mushy and the tastes contrast - Cream
Pass - Tastes nicest with double cream, but make sure you eat the pie quickly before it goes soggy - Dog Food
Fail - Dog food tastes icky on its own, never mind with a pie... - Egg Mayo
Problem - The two tastes actually go quite well, but eating it in front of people is a big NO - Froob Yoghurt
Pass - Fairly sweet, the it adds a different flavour which goes well - Gravy
Fail - The tastes don't go well together. And soggy. - Ice
Fail - You eat mince pies in Winter, you're already cold - Jelly
Pass - That's Jello for you Americans, and it tastes nice! - King Crab
Problem - Too expensive for Sinkhead to try
- Lemon juice
Problem - Very bitter, but not inedible - Milk
Problem - Poor man's cream. Don't eat it in front of your friends. - Nutella
Pass - Mmmm, chocolate and mince pies go really well - Oats
Fail - Just no. Far too dry. - Peanut Butter
Problem - The tastes don't quite mix - Queen CDs
Fail - Ouch, my mouth hurts - Rum
Fail - The taste of the rum is too strong - Squirty Cream
Pass - Tastes really good, like cream - Tartar Sauce
Fail - Too vinegar-y, and the taste is too strong - Wine
Fail - Taste is too strong, and it makes the pie go soggy - X-Rays
Fail - Cancerous - Yak Milk
Problem - They don't sell it at LIDL, but I bet it would be nice
Battery Life Results:
Best before 21st January 2008
Eat within 14 days of opening
Conclusion
If you're poor like me (and Kenny), then these mince pies will be ample, however the luxury models are much better. These ones aren't exactly gourmet, they're a little bit dry and too sweet, but you could do a lot worse.
You should give them a try
Pros
+ Cheap
+ Tasty
Cons
- Too sweet
- Pastry is bland
- They look cheap
External Links:Where to buy?:This review was written for GBAtemp.net ONLY. The article and all included photos are property of GBAtemp.net
If you see this review on any other site please let me know via e-mail - Sinkhead [@at@] GBAtemp [.dot.] net
