Christmas is soon approaching, and with it comes the opportunity to indulge in festive food — a British favourite being the mince pie. This Winter, Supermarket store Morrisons is set to launch its new tradition: National Mince Pie Day to welcome in the family period. Encouraging its customers to join in on the celebrations, Morrisons has declared November 22 to be its annual day for its Rich & Fruity treats.
The chain groccery store has declared to hand out a huge 50,000 pies to customers across the country to lucky customers this Saturday, selected stores will mark the day with gluten-free pies on hand too. Visitors just need to swing by their local need shop to get their hands on a mince pie.
Morrisons bakers have shared that they prepare a monumental 20 million freshly baked pies per year, working hard to maintain pie levels for all during the cold season. Unsurprisingly, the sweet treat is a sure hit with Brits, with nearly 10 million sold in December alone — that’s more than 12,000 pies bought per hour.
The build up to the new national day has led to recent research which states the mince pie to be the second most “official taste of Christmas”, just after the iconic roast turkey. With an average of six pies per citezen in December, it is no surprise that the pie is a universally celebrated favourite; Manchester scoring highest as the city where pies are eaten the most during Christmas, compared to everywhere else in the country.
The tradition, which saw minced meat in the Middle Ages to monstrous portions during Victorian period, is a constant and defiant part of history, also due to Oliver Cromwell having banned the product due to believing them to be a lavish and indulgent Christmas habit.
A British Food Historian, Neil Buttery, British Food Historian, commented: “The humble mince pie has been part of Britain’s Christmas foodie festivities since medieval times, so Christmas without them is simply unimaginable. As a food historian and chef who has baked many different types of mince pies from across the centuries, and loved them all, I’m so pleased that Morrisons is finally giving the festive treats the recognition they deserve with their own day”.
Mark Richmond, Head Chef at Morrisons, shared: “We wanted to give the nation a reason to smile and celebrate one of our most-loved festive bakes and we’ve done just that by launching National Mince Pie Day and giving away 50,000 pies. Having hundreds of expert bakers working hard all-year round to prepare millions of pies across the UK and a variety available for all tastebuds, makes us best placed to celebrate the mince pie! National Mince Pie Day will help spread a little early Christmas cheer and make sure everyone can enjoy a taste of the season, on us!”.
With 10 varieties on offer this year, Morrisons is adamant there is a perfect pie for everyone. Flavours include: The Best Signature Collection; The Best Caramel Apple Crumble; The Best Cherry Bakewell; and even the Shortcrust (now reduced to £1.50 in the build-up to Christmas).
Note that More Card members who shop in-store on National Mince Pie Day (Saturday 22nd November) will be gifted an additional coupon at the till holding 500 More Points when they buy any Mince Pie in store. This has only one week to redeem. Visit thw Morrisons blog to find out which store is celebrating near you.