Family-owned bakery Mrs Mac’s has launched an Australian first style of pie designed to provide the perfect pastry to filling ration with each bite.
The new rectangular pastry bakes pack the same taste as a round pie, but with research showing that more than 70 per cent of Aussies prefer eating a pie with their hands, this new style has been created to meet the demand of one-handed, on-the-go snacking.
The savoury pastry bake comes in a choice of four flavoursome fillings: Ham & Cheese; Bacon, Egg, & Cheese; Pulled Beef; and Creamy Chicken, all wrapped in layers of Mrs Mac’s famed crispy, golden puff pastry.
The new pies launched on 1 June, just in time for winter, and are available at convenience stores, supermarkets and petrol stations across Australia.
Liam O’Neil, Mrs Mac’s Chef and Pastry Expert, said: “It’s no surprise that Aussies love a winter pie, in fact, we see pie consumption increase by 20 per cent during the colder months.
“We have been perfecting pies and pastries for nearly seventy years and wanted to bring something new to this market, we see the new pastry bake as the next innovation of the popular pie – an all-new style of pastry experience on the go or a quick and easy meal at home.”
To celebrate the launch, Mrs Mac’s commissioned a survey, which found that 70 per cent of Australians each a pie at least once a month, and 30 per cent admitted to eating them weekly.
Almost three quarters of the nation are pie purists and choose to eat their pie with the ‘lid on’ while the remaining 26 per cent prefer it deconstructed.
Nearly all Aussies (94 per cent) agree the filling and pastry are a pie’s most defining feature, more particularly, Australians love the classic flavours, with Beef; Beef, Cheese and Bacon; and Steak taking the top three spots as most popular fillings.
Surprisingly, nearly one in five Australians (17 per cent) do not add sauce to their pie but for those that do, 85 per cent of the time it must be tomato sauce.
The findings also revealed state-by-state differences as Victoria/Tasmanians battle the states for the title of biggest pie lovers, with one third (33 per cent) consuming at least one pie a week. This was closely followed by those in New South Wales and ACT (32 per cent), South Australia and Northern Territory (31 per cent), Western Australians (26 per cent), and Queenslanders (25 per cent).