Sainsbury's

On opening the packet the smell was really good, we always think that it's the initial smell that sets the scene for tasting, and this was certainly a good smell.

There were 4 generously sized mince pies in the box so that one is probably enough (for most people). Initial impression on looks was that they looked very attractive with glistening sugar crystals on top, very festive. Although one wheat eating tester did comment that they thought that caster sugar should have been used, not granulated.

So on to the taste test. The pastry was not too crumbly or fragile which we liked, there is nothing worse than a sheet of crumbs down the front of your clothes, especially if trying to eat surreptitiously to avoid sharing! Each mince pie was reasonably well filled with mincemeat and we thought that the filling quantity was just right for the pastry case.

The mincemeat filling was tasty and very like memories of bought wheat version mince pies, although one of our wheat eating testers commented that they thought the filling was a bit too sweet, the general consensus was that it could do with being a little less sweet.

Overall we thought that these Sainsbury's freefrom mince pies were very tasty, although the price a bit steep for only 4 mince pies, which did mean that we subtracted a few points from the overall score. We think that if these were served to wheat eating mince pie eaters they wouldn't notice the difference.

Our testing panel is made up of people with wheat allergies and also people who can eat wheat as part of their normal diet.