# Australian cuisine: the title of this Guardian article caught my eye: **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [July 4, 2022, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373 "2022-07-04T04:49:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/1 "2022-07-04T04:49:20Z")
> **[From ‘snot block’ to meat pie: Australian baked goods – sorted](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2022/jul/04/from-snot-block-to-meat-pie-australian-baked-goods-sorted)** > > Whether it is an artisan joint or a country town institution, there’s not much we love more than a trip to the bakery. But what do we love most: lammies or sausage rolls? “Snot block”?? Really?? ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/2 "2022-07-04T05:34:24Z")
Vanilla slice = snot block Really. Am rather partial to them, myself. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 6:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/3 "2022-07-04T06:09:21Z")
Mmmm … Australian meat pie. A quick, easy, and tasty snack, especially if you do it the way my Australian host demonstrated: take the squirt bottle of ketchup that will always be nearby, plunge the spout into the pie, squirt ketchup into the pie until it bulges, and enjoy. Messy, but oh so tasty! ---
**Author:** ![its\_the\_daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/bb73d2/32.png) [@its\_the\_daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/its_the_daddy)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/4 "2022-07-04T06:26:04Z")
Haven’t seen this misspelling of Grauniad before. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/5 "2022-07-04T06:29:30Z")
Steak onion and mushroom meat pie (from the bakery not the supermarket) with dead horse is divine. Lamingtons, vanilla slice, hot sugared jam donuts, sausage rolls, so many treats I miss. But if I were to leave here it and go back to Australia I would miss more stuff from here. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 7:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/6 "2022-07-04T07:38:12Z")
I wouldn’t have thought of either a vanilla slice or a meat pie as a specifically Australian food, but then I’m from the UK and both are a standard item for us as well. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/7 "2022-07-04T08:24:43Z")
Yes, I don’t think we Australians think they are unique foods that we invented, just that they are typical Australian fare. You can get a meat pie anywhere, but not a spotted dick. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/8 "2022-07-04T08:28:10Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Yes, I don’t think we Australians think they are unique foods that we invented, just that they are typical Australian fare. You can get a meat pie anywhere, but not a spotted dick No, and just for clarity, I’m not suggesting Australians claim them as uniquely Australian, just that from a UK point of view (and a lot of shared cuisine) they seem a lot less Australian than, say, barbequed seafood. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 8:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/9 "2022-07-04T08:31:06Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > No, and just for clarity, I’m not suggesting Australians claim them as uniquely Australian, just that from a UK point of view (and a lot of shared cuisine) they seem a lot less Australian than, say, barbequed seafood. OK I get it. But for frame of reference, my high school tuck shop sold meat pies at lunchtime but no bbq prawns. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 8:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/10 "2022-07-04T08:44:31Z")
Breakfast[s] of champions! Made me the man I am today. etc etc Commercially made and bakery pies made in Australia and NZ [single meal size] are different to the big plate-sized pies I’ve seen in the UK. A range of fillings is now normal - my local place makes about a dozen, and has maybe 6-8 on offer at any one time. Current favourite - lamb. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/11 "2022-07-04T08:59:53Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I wouldn’t have thought of either a vanilla slice or a meat pie as a specifically Australian food, but then I’m from the UK and both are a standard item for us as well. Same for South Africa, although it’s a “custard slice” here and just a “pie”. Single-serving pies are a _very_ common low-cost [fast](https://www.kingpie.co.za/menu/) food. Now, a pie _floater_? That seems to be a particularly Australian abomination. > **[Pie floater](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pie_floater)** > > The pie floater is an Australian dish sold in Adelaide. It consists of a meat pie in a thick pea soup, typically with the addition of tomato sauce. Believed to have been first created in the 1890s, the pie floater gained popularity as a meal sold by South Australian pie carts. In 2003, it was recognised as a South Australian Heritage Icon. > Pea soup with meat has long been part of English culinary history, with mentions in the 19th century, including the "pea and pie supper" (in Yorkshire), "p... ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/12 "2022-07-04T09:05:32Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > Commercially made and bakery pies made in Australia and NZ [single meal size] are different to the big plate-sized pies I’ve seen in the UK. A range of fillings is now normal - my local place makes about a dozen, and has maybe 6-8 on offer at any one time. Current favourite - lamb. Individual pies in the UK are pretty much an established thing and have been for ever. The big pies are an exception not the rule. Here’s a famous [UK range](https://www.pukkapies.co.uk/our-range/) that covers a lot of ground. And I speak whereof I know, my first job as a 16 year old school leaver many decades ago was in a local butchers and bakers. My main job was making pies. Individual pies including meat and potato, steak and kidney, lamb and veg, egg and bacon, pork, cheese and onion, chicken and mushroom, sausage rolls, rabbit and mushroom, even venison and veg when it was available. Plus many more that I’m sure I’ve forgotten. Fun fact. My wife-to-be used to come in every morning and buy a selection of my fresh baked wares for her and her workmates. She didn’t know me at the time but even before we met she couldn’t resist a nibble of my tasty morsels. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/13 "2022-07-04T09:12:22Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Now, a pie _floater_? That seems to be a particularly Australian abomination. Yes, that’s definitely an Aussie quirk. It is a bit extreme but I endorse the idea. My dad ran a fish and chip shop in the UK, pies and mushy peas would be a standard order but actually submerging the pie was very much not the norm. Those crazy Aussies just take it that little bit too far. Mind you, having had a rather delicious pie floater in Cairns whilst being stared at by a pelican, I reckon the covering of peas may well be a defensive mechanism against birds eyeing up the pie. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/14 "2022-07-04T09:22:37Z")
They look okay. Do they sell them in warmers and ready to eat from anywhere? They seem to be pitched as take home and heat product. Did your future missus get hers all hot and ready to go? ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/15 "2022-07-04T09:27:32Z")
I used to work for a UK company that manufactured pie-making machines. Basically, a conveyor with various attachments to dispense a foil container, mould a pastry lining, fill it with whatever, and apply a lid. We shipped them all over the world and Australia was the biggest market by far. One of these machines could make a thousand pies an hour, 23 hours a day and some bakeries had several of them. Some pies were baked straight away, while others were frozen raw, for shipping out to remote towns. We sold several to Canadian bakeries too, but they were problematic because Canada had strict rules about food machinery - From memory, nickel in the steel was bad and the sub frame had to be stainless steel instead of the usual painted steel. [![](http://crypto-peerless.co.uk/shop/image/cache/data/Products/Pie%20and%20Pastry/linamatic-250x250.jpg) ](http://crypto-peerless.co.uk/shop/image/cache/data/Products/Pie%20and%20Pastry/linamatic-250x250.jpg) They are currently made by [http://crypto-peerless.co.uk/shop/pie-and-pastry-moulding-machines-and-dies](http://crypto-peerless.co.uk/shop/pie-and-pastry-moulding-machines-and-dies) ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/16 "2022-07-04T09:46:04Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > They look okay. Do they sell them in warmers and ready to eat from anywhere? They seem to be pitched as take home and heat product. In various cafes and stalls they have them ready to eat (and chip shops of course) but “okay” is the right response here. They are mass produced and, as I’m sure is the case in Australia, the locally produced and hand-made pies are where the real action is. > [@Banksiaman](#): > > Did your future missus get hers all hot and ready to go? She is as fond of a double-entendre as I am, as you can imagine, the area of teenage hot meat is a goldmine of filth and innuendo. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/17 "2022-07-04T10:22:04Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > It is a bit extreme but I endorse the idea. I could see it with a nice meat broth or similar. It’s the pea soup (with tomato sauce) part I can’t be having with. I’m OK with mushy peas, on the side. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2022, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/australian-cuisine-the-title-of-this-guardian-article-caught-my-eye/967373/18 "2022-07-04T11:13:21Z")
There was an Aussie meat pie fast food place in a nearby food court, but it never seemed particularly busy unfortunately. I doubt it survived the pandemic.