Today I’m going to talk about pies.
In New Zealand and Australia the meat pie is part of the culture. It’s the blue collar equivalent of caviar. I think it fits into the cultural jigsaw in a way similar to the way a sausage, bun, mustard and pickles fit into the American culture as hot dogs.
Ah, the joys of cross-cultural food translation.
According to the font of all semi-accurate knowledge, Wikipedia, the standard Kiwi pie is not too dissimilar to the American pot pie. Except that the shortening in the base makes it more structurally sound and I think a little bigger.
Typically a pie will fit moderately comfortably in your hand, and be filled with minced meat, spices and optional extras such as cheese, mushrooms or vegetables. The recipes are often closely guarded secrets.
When I was growing up, May’s pies in Timaru had a national reputation for goodness. These had a kind of yellow pastry but were thick with ground lamb and heavily spiced. It was common knowledge the best mutton pies in the country could be bought at Dunsandel, a few miles south of Christchurch.
The pie warmers in towns from Kaitaia to Bluff would be filled with the drying crusts of three or four varieties.
As a side note, the popularity of the meat pie is such that the Government has set certain rules about them. For example, they must contain at least 25 percent meat. Unfortunately this is the pre-cooked weight, and doesn’t specify what part of the animal is used. Technically muscle, sinew and even snouts are meat, under this definition.
But the Pie Days of my youth are gone. In a similar way to the McDonald’s and KFC invasion from the United States, Australian pie makers have invaded New Zealand.
The worst offender, in my opinion, is Mrs Mac's. These are made in Australia from 100 percent Australian ingredients and, I’m picking, are sent to New Zealand frozen and sold to petrol stations and dairies at about 300 for a dollar and then retail for about four dollars each.
And, frankly, they taste like somebody’s eaten them already.
Less offensive is Big Ben, which is an Australian company which at least uses New Zealand ingredients and makes the pies in New Zealand. But not a great recipe.
Irvine’s pies, made by Goodman Fielder, tend to be the best of the service station crop for my money. Not so strong on mass, but the pastry is nice and it all seems fairly proportionally well balanced.
Fortunately the cafes of the country maintain the quality and individuality of the good old Kiwi meat pie. Great chunks of meat in the middle, blazing hot globs of mushroom falling in your lap as the architectural integrity of the pie’s structure collapses. Or cringing with pain as the melted cheese explodes volcanically from its insulated pastry pocket and burns your lips to shreds. It’s brilliant.
I heard someone say recently that after travelling the world they believed the best pies were made in New Zealand. It gave me a haunting touch of patriotic pie pride; with a bonus 25 grams of saturated fat. I like it.
In New Zealand and Australia the meat pie is part of the culture. It’s the blue collar equivalent of caviar. I think it fits into the cultural jigsaw in a way similar to the way a sausage, bun, mustard and pickles fit into the American culture as hot dogs.
Ah, the joys of cross-cultural food translation.
According to the font of all semi-accurate knowledge, Wikipedia, the standard Kiwi pie is not too dissimilar to the American pot pie. Except that the shortening in the base makes it more structurally sound and I think a little bigger.
Typically a pie will fit moderately comfortably in your hand, and be filled with minced meat, spices and optional extras such as cheese, mushrooms or vegetables. The recipes are often closely guarded secrets.
When I was growing up, May’s pies in Timaru had a national reputation for goodness. These had a kind of yellow pastry but were thick with ground lamb and heavily spiced. It was common knowledge the best mutton pies in the country could be bought at Dunsandel, a few miles south of Christchurch.
The pie warmers in towns from Kaitaia to Bluff would be filled with the drying crusts of three or four varieties.
As a side note, the popularity of the meat pie is such that the Government has set certain rules about them. For example, they must contain at least 25 percent meat. Unfortunately this is the pre-cooked weight, and doesn’t specify what part of the animal is used. Technically muscle, sinew and even snouts are meat, under this definition.
But the Pie Days of my youth are gone. In a similar way to the McDonald’s and KFC invasion from the United States, Australian pie makers have invaded New Zealand.
The worst offender, in my opinion, is Mrs Mac's. These are made in Australia from 100 percent Australian ingredients and, I’m picking, are sent to New Zealand frozen and sold to petrol stations and dairies at about 300 for a dollar and then retail for about four dollars each.
And, frankly, they taste like somebody’s eaten them already.
Less offensive is Big Ben, which is an Australian company which at least uses New Zealand ingredients and makes the pies in New Zealand. But not a great recipe.
Irvine’s pies, made by Goodman Fielder, tend to be the best of the service station crop for my money. Not so strong on mass, but the pastry is nice and it all seems fairly proportionally well balanced.
Fortunately the cafes of the country maintain the quality and individuality of the good old Kiwi meat pie. Great chunks of meat in the middle, blazing hot globs of mushroom falling in your lap as the architectural integrity of the pie’s structure collapses. Or cringing with pain as the melted cheese explodes volcanically from its insulated pastry pocket and burns your lips to shreds. It’s brilliant.
I heard someone say recently that after travelling the world they believed the best pies were made in New Zealand. It gave me a haunting touch of patriotic pie pride; with a bonus 25 grams of saturated fat. I like it.
I have been trying to think of a clever comment about pies for days, and, well, just can't come up with a thing. I will say this, though, American pot pies must use a lot more gravy. We would never pick one up and eat it with our fingers. Like yours, though, ours probably include quite a few snouts!
ReplyDeleteHave you had a Jimmy's pie before? They were a staple of family holidays. Nothing quite like them for me
ReplyDelete