# Q for Aussies: what constitues a "slice"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 21, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996 "2018-03-21T22:53:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/41 "2018-03-23T00:35:30Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Depending on the exact recipe, those would be either squares, slices (esp. “custard slice”) or just “fridge tart” in South Africa. > > I give you the glory that is [Peppermint Crisp fridge tart](http://www.cooksister.com/2007/08/peppermint-cris.html). Do you get peppermint crisp outside the [del]Cadbury[del] Commonwealth zone? I am intrigued by this, but yes, those Peppermint Crisps aren’t available in the US, and ordering them in is stupid expensive. I’d bet this would be tasty using our Butterfinger candy bars, though - they’re a different flavor (peanut butter) but they’re crispy, which would at least preserve that aspect, and the flavor would go well with the other ingredients. It also makes me wonder about Nestle - Butterfinger is their product too, and I don’t know why they think some of their other products (like the Aero bars) wouldn’t fly here. I love Aero bars and get one whenever I am in a place they are available. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/42 "2018-03-23T02:45:49Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > What, like just the word, ‘bars’? No, it would call to mind any of a variety of things that are described as ‘bars’ based on the listener’s history and life experience. > > But no american is going to hear, “Hey, there are some bars in the breakroom if you’re interested?” and interpret it as several commercial establishments where people go to drink have been left in the office kitchen. I must be spending too much time with college students. If they heard “there’s a bar in the breakroom” or “everybody likes bars” I guarantee that the first type of bar they would think of would be the one that serves alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/43 "2018-03-23T05:36:33Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Pink Floyd: For want of the price of tea and a slice the old man died. There’s room for you inside. ---
**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:** [March 23, 2018, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/44 "2018-03-23T06:22:00Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > I’ve never seen anything like that (and, honestly, it looks revolting). Depends how you feel about peppermint - how are you on candy cane bark? It’s a leeeetle like that, but … crisper? Or ever had Kendal Mint Cake? ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 8:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/45 "2018-03-23T08:51:47Z")
I was hooked on peppermint crisp chocolate when I lived in the UK. But sadly, not only do they not seem to have it outside the Commonwealth zone, it’s not even available in Australia. ISTR there was a Cadbury peppermint chip bar in the supermarkets very \*very \*briefly (once, for 20 minutes…) but apart from that, chocolate makers here seem to believe that all peppermint in chocolate should be goo. Which makes me sad, since I kinda hate goo, and love peppermint ---
**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:** [March 23, 2018, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/46 "2018-03-23T09:28:54Z")
I’m told by a native that the closest thing in a candy an American might recognize would be a York Peppermint Pattie, but without the vivid green crystalline nature of the real thing. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/47 "2018-03-23T10:23:33Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > I was hooked on peppermint crisp chocolate when I lived in the UK. But sadly, not only do they not seem to have it outside the Commonwealth zone, it’s not even available in Australia. We have Peppermint Crisp. Sometimes we use it on pavlova. 🙂 ---
**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:** [March 23, 2018, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/48 "2018-03-23T13:28:45Z")
Wait, I thought Melbourne was _in_ Victoria? ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/49 "2018-03-23T13:35:24Z")
Is it a coincidence that all the recipes linked here contain coconut, or do most slice recipes call for it? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/50 "2018-03-23T16:11:37Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Wait, I thought Melbourne was _in_ Victoria? It is. > [@Omega\_Glory](#): > > Is it a coincidence that all the recipes linked here contain coconut, or do most slice recipes call for it? It’s largely a coincidence. There is no rule that a slice contain coconut, although, in my experience, a significant number of Aussie recipes do use coconut. It certainly seems more common in baked goods in Australia than in the US. Our national “cookie,” the Anzac biscuit. contains coconut. That said, I was actually somewhat surprised to see coconut in the caramel slice recipe that i linked in my earlier post. I didn’t expect that, and i’ve certainly had caramel slice where the base was basically a plain cookie-style base, with no coconut. Here’s a recipe for [vanilla slice](https://queen.com.au/recipes/classic-queen-vanilla-slice/), sometimes known as custard slice. This is one of the more common slices you’ll find in Aussie pastry shops, and it contains no coconut. ---
**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:** [March 23, 2018, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/51 "2018-03-23T16:34:27Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > It is. I don’t see how someone in Victoria can have peppermint crisp and someone in Melbourne doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2018, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/52 "2018-03-23T16:49:25Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I don’t see how someone in Victoria can have peppermint crisp and someone in Melbourne doesn’t. Well, i think **Eliahna** was saying to **Aspidistra** that, if s/he looks a bit harder, s/he will, in fact, be able to find peppermint crisp. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/53 "2018-03-24T02:29:50Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Well, i think **Eliahna** was saying to **Aspidistra** that, if s/he looks a bit harder, s/he will, in fact, be able to find peppermint crisp. Yeah, I’m not sure why **Aspidistra** didn’t know that we have Peppermint Crisp. We do. The big supermarkets stock it in the confectionary aisle: > **[Nestle Peppermint Crisp Milk Chocolate Bar 35g | Woolworths](https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/productdetails/98869/nestle-peppermint-crisp)** > > Check out nestle peppermint crisp milk chocolate bar 35g at woolworths.com.au. Order 24/7 at our online supermarket [https://shop.coles.com.au/a/a-national/product/nestle-chocolate-bar-medium-peppermint-crisp](https://shop.coles.com.au/a/a-national/product/nestle-chocolate-bar-medium-peppermint-crisp) You could probably get it at IGA too. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2018, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996/54 "2018-03-24T03:19:55Z")
Coconut in baked goods and confectionary is generally considered loathsome by patriotic Americans. No offense meant, and these things look FANTASTIC, even to a not-much-sweet-tooth guy like me. Also, “bars” are dense cakes cut into bar shape and served at Lutheran coffee hours after church on Sunday mornings in the desolate Northsome lands of Wisconsin and Minnesota. “Bars” are unknown in the more civilized parts of the country. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/q-for-aussies-what-constitues-a-slice/810996.md?page=2)