I appreciate this flavour combination isn’t for everyone but you shouldn’t knock it until you’ve tried it
My mince pies of choice
Christmas is a time for festive flavours, whether it’s turkey and cranberry or gingerbread spices. And one of the absolute staples of any Christmas food shop is mince pies, with their spiced mincemeat filling and crumbly pastry casing.
There are lots of different versions of the Christmas staple which you can pick up in supermarkets across Merseyside, from rum spiced mince pies to salted caramel versions. You can get mince pies topped with crumble coating and iced ones for an extra hit of sugar.
But the way I eat my mince pies has prompted outrage, disgust and horror from most people I’ve told about it. For me, it’s a perfectly sensible flavour combination and I am amazed more people don’t do it – but the reaction I’ve received every time I mention it in conversation makes me think that perhaps I’m on my own.
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I like to top my mince pies with cheese. The stronger and stinkier the cheese, the better the flavour – but I’ll settle for a simple mature cheddar if I haven’t got anything else in. The best combination is some sort of blue cheese, like a strong stilton, but brie and camembert also work really nicely.
What I tend to do is get a knife and slice off the top of the pastry casing, before adding in a few thin slices of my chosen cheese, before popping the lid back on and then sticking the entire mince pie in the air fryer or under the grill so the cheese can melt nicely. Then after 3-5 minutes in the air fryer, you’ve got a warm, spiced mince pie, with a gooey, oozy cheese accompaniment.
If you’re thinking I’m mad, allow me to explain my reasoning. You’ll sometimes find a malt loaf or a fruit cake on a cheeseboard, which I think is absolutely delicious. The combination of sweet and savoury works brilliantly – much like having cheese and honey, or cheese and grapes served together on a grazing table.
A winning combination
To my mind, cheesy mince pies follow the same logic – sweet and delicious mincemeat filling, accompanied by a savoury hit of strong cheese. It’s the perfect combination.
And it seems I’m not the only person who enjoys this flavour combination – Iceland is selling Cathedral City branded cheddar and chutney mince pies, which contain a pear and fig mincemeat chutney filling, along with melty cheddar cheese. And the Branston Pickle website contains a recipe to make your own cheese and pickle mince pies at home. Crafted alongside professional baker Lily Vanilli, the recipe allows home bakers to create savoury mince pies which they say are good enough to convert any sceptics.
If you’re still horrified, I promise you one bite of a sweet and savoury cheesy mince pie will convert you instantly.