Mince — it's the Toyota Corolla of meats. Mince is reliable, readily available and no fuss.
It's the time of year when we're reaching for our mince, and there's so much more to it than spaghetti bolognese.
Fourth-generation butcher Jason Perry from the Aussie Butcher in Auckland's New Lynn knows his mince and says it's a top seller. He says you can tell the calibre of a butcher by their cut of mince.
"Mince is one of those things. If you've got a good mince tray, you know you're a good butcher shop," he said.
Foodstuffs say mince purchases are growing by 11% each year and that 90% of us buy beef mince. But don't forget chicken, pork, lamb — and the 'Brangelina' of mince, bork.
"Bork is beef and pork, fifty-fifty. It's a really popular one for Italian dishes," explained Perry.
And when you're shopping for mince, look around; there's usually a variety on special.
Seven Sharp took a batch of mince to an expert in Taupo to get some tips on how to turn it into fast, cheap and easy meals.
Best-selling cookbook author Vanya Insull specialises in family meals and said mince is in high demand and one of the most searched-for ingredients on her website VJCooks.com.
"Our most popular post is One Pot Mince and Pasta," she said. "I think we have in between five hundred and a thousand people a day clicking on that one recipe."
Insull believes the key ingredient that accounts for the popularity of mince is its affordability and versatility, and kids eat it. Mince is also easy to add different flavours to.
"It's also easy to freeze," she said.
Insull
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