New Zealand lamb will be the centrepiece for many Kiwis as they celebrate the festive season. Photo / Supplied
New Zealand lamb will be the centrepiece for many Kiwis as they celebrate the festive season. Photo / Supplied
Get your ovens ready, the results of the most important vote of the year are in, and New Zealand lamb will be the protein of choice on Kiwis’ plates this Christmas Day.
The result comes as part of the Great Kiwi Christmas Survey – the fifth edition of the pollrun by Retail Meat New Zealand in conjunction with Beef + Lamb New Zealand and NZPork.
The poll of more than 1000 Kiwis covered everything from what style of Christmas they will be having to when is the appropriate time to begin playing Christmas music. For Christmas dinner, New Zealand lamb was the winner with 38.3 per cent of the vote. Ham was a close second at 35 per cent and third in line was beef with 13.1 per cent.
Most Kiwis are opting for a traditional style meal with a barbecue as a second preference, and 18.5 per cent of respondents said they will be catering for a big crowd.
Beef + Lamb New Zealand CEO Kit Arkwright says the holiday season is a great time of the year for Kiwis to come together and celebrate with family and friends.
“Food is always an important part of celebrations at this time of the year and it’s no surprise that New Zealand lamb will be the centrepiece for many Kiwis as they celebrate the festive season. It’s a traditional favourite for the Christmas table and is not only delicious but can easily feed a crowd. What’s more, there are some great deals to be had on lamb legs, so fill up your fridges and freezers.”
Of those polled, 36.8 per cent said they expect to have 10 or more people for Christmas Day and 40.2 per cent will spend two to three days preparing for their Christmas feast. A total of 58.3 per cent said they will be eating their main Christmas meal between midday and 2pm on Christmas Day with 24 per cent eating after 2pm.
Cooking their Christmas meal in an oven came out top of the poll with the barbecue following closely behind. And 61.8 per cent said they expect to have at least two days’ worth of leftovers to wade through.
Of course, Christmas isn’t Christmas without a mouth-watering dessert and once again pavlova took out the top spot with 68.5 per cent having this iconic Kiwi dessert on their Christmas menu. Trifle came in second, followed by strawberries and icecream.
A total 69.1 per cent of respondents said spending time with family is their favourite part of the festive season which is up from 61.6 per cent last year. And 17 per cent said they are celebrating with more family and friends this year due to Covid restrictions having been lifted while 39.6 per cent said they will be scaling down their Christmas due to economic pressure.
The question of when to begin playing Christmas music received the highest percentage of votes (79.2 per cent) agreeing that Christmas music should only be played in December.
Whatever your Christmas plans are this year, we hope that everyone gets to spend time with their friends, family and communities this holiday season.
Which mince pies slay this Christmas? – Consumer NZ investigates
Mince pies are a perennial festive favourite. A team of eager tasters at Consumer NZ blind-sampled seven Christmas mince tarts in a quest to find New Zealand’s finest.
Supermarket own brand, Pams, took out the two top spots.
“Pams Finest Butter Crust Traditional Christmas Tarts was our team favourite,” said Caitlin Cherry, Consumer NZ head of content.
When it comes to mince pies, spending big bucks doesn’t necessarily mean you get top quality, says Consumer NZ. Photo / 123rf
“Not only did these tarts taste delicious but they looked great too, with a pastry star on top.”
Coming in at just under 79 cents per pie, these treats were slightly more expensive than the second-placed offering.
“Another Pams product came second. Pams Fruit Mince Tarts were praised for having a good balance of sweet and spice,” said Cherry.
“At just over 70 cents a pie, these are a great option for people looking for a satisfying festive bite without the hefty price tag.”
The taste testers’ least favourite, also from Pams, was the Gluten Free Traditional Fruit Mince Tarts.
“One of the tasting team referred to this as the Toyota Corolla of mince tarts – pretty boring.
“Another taster said she would only eat this pie again if she was ravenous or appeasing a grumpy old aunt.”
The gluten-free pick certainly left a bad taste in the test team’s collective mouths. This was a pretty pricey pack too, working out at just under 90 cents per pie.
A mince pie craftily disguised as a shortbread biscuit came second from the bottom.
Jon-Jon’s Christmas Fruit Mince Bites (gluten-free) divided the testers. While most of the panel found this pie unpleasant, one taster complimented the taste and texture of the pastry.
“At over a dollar a pie, this was the priciest one we tried. The overall taste and texture, though, were overwhelmingly disappointing.
“What our test has shown, yet again, is spending big bucks doesn’t necessarily mean you get top quality. The budget brands we tasted would be a welcome addition to Consumer’s Christmas table.”
