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An Australian or New Zealand meat pie is a hand-sized meat pie containing largely diced or minced meat and gravy, sometimes with onion, mushrooms, or cheese and often consumed as a takeaway food snack. The pie itself is similar to the United Kingdom's steak pie. It is considered iconic in Australia and New Zealand.〔http://www.teara.govt.nz/NewZealanders/NewZealandPeoples/TheNewZealanders/12/en〕 It was described by former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr in 2003 as Australia's "national dish".〔(Sausage Roll Policy )〕 New Zealanders regard the meat pie as a part of New Zealand cuisine, and it forms part of the New Zealand national identity.〔http://www.nzlistener.co.nz/issue/3548/features/11017/new_zealand_eats_.html Sarah Barnett, New Zealand Eats, New Zealand Listener, Vol 213 No 3548, 10–16 May 2008〕 The popular brand Four'N'Twenty produces 50,000 pies per hour and Australians consume an average of 12 meat pies each per year. The average consumption of meat pies in New Zealand is 15 per person per year.〔Andre Taber states that in 2004, business transactions for meat pies in New Zealand were worth NZ$120 million. The average cost of a meat pie was about NZ$2 this puts the sale of meat pies in New Zealand to be 60 million. As New Zealand has a population of 4 million this puts the average consumption per head to 15 per year. Andre Taber, ''The Great New Zealand Pie Guide: A Tasting Guide To Some of the Best Kiwi Pies Up and Down the Country'', Renaissance Publishing, 2006, pg 7–8〕 The meat pie is heavily associated with Australian rules football and Rugby League as one of the most popular consumed food items whilst watching a game. ==Commercial production== Manufacturers of pies in Australia tend to be state-based, reflecting the long distances involved with interstate transport and lack of refrigeration capabilities in the early years of pie production. Many pies sold ready-to-eat at smaller outlets are sold unbranded and may be locally produced, produced by a brand-name vendor, or even imported, frozen pies heated prior to serving. An Australian meat pie was produced in 1947 by L. T. McClure in a small bakery in Bendigo and was destined to become the famous Four'N'Twenty branded pie. Due to its relationship with Australian rules football, Four'N'Twenty has iconic status in Victoria and high popularity outside the state. Other manufacturers predate this, and the pie manufacturer Sargent can trace their pie making back to 1906. In South Australia, Balfours and Vili's has been making pies for over 100 years. Both of these pie makers supply pies to various venues hosting Australian rules football games. Produced in Western Australia, Mrs Mac's Pies are now sold nationwide, found mostly in service stations and corner stores, competing with other brands in the contested takeaway hotbox market on the basis of quality and fillings other than the normal fare. In Victoria, some of the well known and famous pie makers include the makers of two of Australia's most famous pies - Four'N'Twenty and Patties -Patties Foods in Bairnsdale, as well as locally known producers Pie in the Sky from Olinda, Clarke's Pies from Mortlake, Kings Pies from Hamilton, Gillies from Bendigo and Beaumont's Pies from Geelong. In Tasmania, the main manufacturer of pies is National Pies. National Pies make typical beef mince pies, as well as "Cottage Pies", which are topped with mashed potato. National Pies' mince pies are rectangular in shape, as opposed to most other brands, which are round. Australian Meat Pies were introduced into the United States in 1994 by Mark Allen, of Boort, Victoria, when he and his wife, Wendy, began operation of Pacific Products, Inc. in Marietta, Georgia. Pacific Products was a wholesale only business, selling their pies to chain retailers throughout the United States. Although Pacific Products is no longer in business, Mark Allen and his Partner Neville Steele opened the Australian Bakery Cafe in Marietta, a retail bakery which also ships its products throughout the USA. In 1977, during the time that American fast food restaurants moved into New Zealand, Progressive Enterprises created Georgie Pie, a fast food restaurant with a menu based on meat pies. The pies were batch made and frozen at Progressive's Mangere plant. The first Georgie Pie restaurant opened in Kelston, Auckland, and at its peak in the mid-1990s had become a chain of 32 restaurants across New Zealand. However, after a major expansion, Georgie Pie became uneconomic to run and was eventually sold to McDonald's New Zealand in 1996. The last restaurant at Mission Bay, Auckland, closed in 1998. In June 2013, McDonald's started a trial relaunch of Georgie Pie, selling one flavour of pie (Steak Mince 'n' Cheese) through eleven of its restaurants in Auckland and Hamilton. More recently, Jesters Pies, which started in Claremont, Western Australia in 1997, has expanded to sell take-away pies across Australia and New Zealand, after being bought by Shakespeares Pies in 2004. They serve a range of jaffle pies, rather than oven cooked pies. In 2007 they decreased the amount of saturated and trans fat from their pies. Five of their pies were awarded a "tick" by the Heart Foundation indicating that they were healthy food choices. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Meat pie (Australia and New Zealand)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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