Latest news with #fooddebate
News.com.au
07-07-2025
- General
- News.com.au
‘Lid on or off?': Viral meat pie debate divides Aussies
Few things get Aussies more fired up than debating the 'correct' way to eat one of our national dishes. From the ongoing argument about how thickly to spread Vegemite on toast, to which snag deserves to be on the sambo at the Bunnings sausage sizzle, we love defending our food rituals. Now, the humble meat pie – arguably the pinnacle of Australian cuisine – is once again at the centre of heated online discussion. While you might think it's a straightforward task, it turns out there are many popular methods for enjoying this iconic servo staple. It all started when an Aussie took to Reddit, showing four distinct pie-eating techniques, rating them out of 10. The first method involved removing the lid and eating the filling with a spoon. This was slammed as a '0/10' and 'unAustralian'. According to the original poster, 'a meat pie should not be on a plate'. The second method – and probably the most widely accepted – involves taking a bite, squirting sauce directly onto the exposed filling, and repeating until the pie is finished. This scored a 9/10 for delivering an 'equal meat to sauce ratio' in every bite. The classic 'on the go' approach – sauce on top, pie in hand – received a 7/10 with the caveat: 'provided you keep adding sauce as you go along'. The final method, where the eater uses the pastry lid as a makeshift spoon to scoop out the filling, was given a savage score of -12. The verdict was that it is 'so messy, so soggy and basically the worst'. Naturally, comments were full of people equally passionate about the right way to eat a pie. The four main points of contention were: – The order of eating the pastry and filling – The role of sauce (on top, mixed in, or not at all) – The method of consumption (cutlery versus hands-on) – Whether to add extra flavour or not Some suggested a hybrid approach. 'What about taking the lid off, adding sauce, then putting the lid back on?' proposed one. 'I take the lid off, add shredded cheese, then put the lid back on if it's a plain meat pie,' said another. Context also plays a part, with many admitting their method depends on the situation. 'If I'm at home, I'll whip out my finest silverware, but if I'm on the go, number two all the way,' wrote one. Another added: 'If it's a good meat pie, it's on a plate and I'm using utensils because I'm not an animal,' another said, 'but if it's a footy pie or a bakery pie ready to go, just blow on it'. Burnt tongues were a common concern, with one swearing by the lid-off method to avoid scorched fillings. 'Taking the lid off means I don't get burning meat all over me and burn the crap out of my mouth,' said a user. There were also many sauce sceptics. One boldly claimed, 'A good pie needs no sauce'. 'The pie should speak for itself,' another agreed. Then, the creative approaches began rolling in. 'I cut it straight down the guts 'cos it's piping hot and I can blow on the meat before devouring each half with my head tilted to the side a little,' shared one. 'I usually have two pies. I eat the lids, then pour the extra meat into one pie,' shared another pie fanatic. 'Real pie eaters take the lid off, flip it so it's flakes crust down to avoid losing that stuff and then smash that bad boy like an apple,' argued another. 'I crack open the top, squirt in the sauces (tomato and BBQ in equal measure), mix it all together with the mince, replace the top, and then eat it,' said someone else. And of course, the traditionalists chimed in, 'Order your pie, chuck on your sauce, and take a bite – easy as that,' said someone. Like any food debate close to our hearts, it's clear there's no single 'correct' way to eat a meat pie – just a lot of fiercely held opinions.
News.com.au
25-06-2025
- General
- News.com.au
Vegemite responds to cafe's ‘criminal' toast act
There's nothing that stirs the internet more than a debate about Vegemite. This time, it's a photo of a single piece of sad, sparsely-spread Vegemite toast that's managed to rile everyone up online. The offending slice, costing $6, was posted to Reddit, where it was naturally labelled 'un-Australian,' 'a crime,' and 'an act against the Commonwealth' by hundreds of Aussies. The image showed the takeaway order, which was a thin slice of white bread with a few patchy smears of our nation's beloved condiment clinging to the surface. If there's butter on there, it's most definitely hiding, and the toasting almost seems non-existent. 'Sigh, if you can't make it, don't put it on the menu,' the poster lamented, before calling it an 'abomination'. Reddit users didn't hold back, with one joking, 'This constitutes a clear violation of the National Vegemite Act (1954, amended 1986, 2001 and 2022), Section 2.3'. Another called it 'Vegemaybe' due to the evident half-hearted effort, while others took the joke further and called it 'Vegemightnot'. Even though it looks like the cafe simply waved a jar of Vegemite near the toast and called it a day, some said that fussy Vegemite orderers are to blame, not the cafe. 'You can almost certainly blame this on that one time a customer complained that there was 'too much' Vegemite on the toast and sent it back,' pointed out one user. Then others called out the poster themselves for opting to purchase such a simple dish from a cafe in the first place. 'How hard is it to put bread in the toaster and do it yourself – what a waste of money,' one remarked. Meanwhile, a few brave people admitted they actually thought it was the perfect amount. 'Only needs more butter,' said one user. 'Looks fine to me, even tasty,' wrote someone else, as another admitted, 'That's how I like my Vegemite'. And some simply provided pragmatic responses: 'Look, I agree that it's a pathetic amount of Vegemite but cafes have to cater to the majority. A lot of people prefer just a smattering. It's always easier to add more Vegemite than remove Vegemite. Now you know their baseline, tell them you want more next time,' said one. With the nation's breakfast pride at stake, reached out to the true authority: Vegemite itself. 'At Vegemite, we know that how you enjoy your toast is a deeply personal thing – whether it's a whisper-thin layer or a bold, generous spread, we don't judge!' the brand said. 'Everyone has their own perfect ratio.' It also noted that if you're ever unsure when eating out, asking for your Vegemite on the side is a 'great way to get it just right'. 'Or, for the truly devoted, keeping a personal stash on hand or in the glove box of your car isn't the worst idea – desperate times call for delicious measures!'
Daily Mail
21-06-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Why a single photo of a Magnum ice cream has Aussies up in arms
A disappointed Aussie has questioned if his favourite ice cream has shrunk in size after he bought a Magnum from his local petrol station. The man placed his hand beside the ice cream to give Aussies a size reference. 'Is this a special servo size or is this just how big a magnum ice cream is now?' he captioned a photo of the sweet treat on Reddit. 'Haven't had a Magnum ice cream in ages. I swear these were three times bigger when I was a kid. It's about as big as a couple fingers now.' Aussies were quick to weigh in to the Magnum size debate. 'What used to be the mini became the regular a long time ago,' one person claimed. 'Absolutely not worth the purchase given the quality also dropped massively from when they were first released.' 'Oh old school magnum ego were the go-to ice cream,' a second agreed. 'The chocolate is much thinner now. I bought two at the footy the other night for $7 each and they were very underwhelming,' a third said. 'Wait, seriously? I stopped getting them years ago after one of the price hikes, but now they only sell the minis and call them regular ones? What a rort,' a fourth added. 'Kept the same overpriced tags and shrank,' another commenter agreed. It came as another upset Aussie claimed they only received 317g of peas in a 500g bag of McCain frozen baby peas they purchased at Woolworths. 'I've heard of shrinkflation, but really?' they captioned a photo of the peas on a scale. 'Guess I'm keeping receipts for longer from now on.' Aussies were divided over whether Woolworths or McCains, the manufacturer of the frozen peas, were at fault over the weight discrepancy. 'Don't Woolworths buy these products to sell to us? Maybe they should do a better job ensuring the quality of what they offer including that consumers are getting what they are paying for,' one person wrote. 'Somebody procures these things. There should be quality control at both levels, I'd be complaining to both.' But another defended Woolworths, writing: 'What do you expect, someone to weigh every single item that is on the shelf?!' 'It's on Woolies to ensure it's delivered within temperature and not tampered with and it's on Woolies to report customer complaints to the supplier/relevant food authorities,' a third person argued.
