Food Review: Sargents Italian Style Beef and Cheese Pie

http://www.sargents.com.au/

I have previously reviewed Sargents Curry Pie, which although being a good pie, lacked the curry flavour.

Today Im tasting Sargents Traditional Italian Beef and Cheese Pie.

As shown in the photo below, the pie on the packet shows a massive layer of hot cheese dribbling over the freshly (surgically) cut pie.

Is adding cheese to a mince pie Italian? Probably would be if there were a fist full of herbs, garlic, Parmesan, tomato, olives and some Italian sausage as ingredients.

25 minutes in a 180 degree preheated oven.. cheese dripping out of the pie makes it promising!

The case of the vanishing Cheese!

Mine didn't quite look the same as the packet - perhaps it was lack of a surgical cut.. or maybe it was just because there was a lack of cheese! What they did put in there were a host of other ingredients - things like thickeners, emulsifiers, colour, antioxidants and a swag of numbers which means nothing to me except the notion that it ain't home made nor very traditional.

From a taste perspective, the crust and pastry was the same as the curry pie - Quite good for a mass produced pie. There was no overwhelming salt flavour - as shown by the Balfours pie. 

The mince texture was quite good, the gravy wasn't too runny, but there was no thick layer of cheese.

Overall, the pie was good. You could taste the cheese, although not overwhelming, so I think they got the balance right. It tasted "light" and easy to eat. I ate both pies without the universal pie improver (Spring Gully Tomato Sauce) as the flavour was OK.

My score is:

Flavour: 7/10

Pastry: 8/10

Colour: 7/10

Im introducing a new score: Truth in Marketing (TIM)

TIM: 3/10 as I dont believe it represents what I would expect in an Italian Style Beef and Cheese Pie and the photo on the packet exaggerates the amount of cheese in the pie.

Regardless.. It easily receives the Bogan Stamp Of Approval for Everyday Use

+1 this if you find it interesting or entertaining!

Food Review: Sargents Curry Pie

 Pies are one of the staple dietary requirements for the average Bogan. Curry pies, whilst fulfilling the basic dietary requirement could be seen as "gourmet". Fortunately, Sargents added the word TRADITIONAL which makes it OK.

The pies come as "re-heat and eat" - perfect for the Saturday Lunch. Instructions on the back make it easy to prepare - with the added bonus of warnings for microwave use - I mean who really wants a pie with a soggy crust?

So how does this culinary delight compare to the packaging?

Clearly there could be improvements in branding location and crimping, but it has the basic designs - its round, and made of pastry.

I heated the pies according to the instructions - 175 degrees for 30 minutes with the following results:

The pie on the right is a pretty good representation of the packet. The pie on the left has the classic warning sign - "watch out piping hot filling inside" - burnt tongue a distinct possibility.

Inside the pie:

Consistency is good - colour is excellent. You can see mince in the pie. There was a nice crunch punching through the pastry.

Taste was disappointing. For a Curry pie, I expected a lot more curry, instead it was a good meat pie with a slight curry flavour.

As this was the case, I decided to add my favourite Tomato Sauce, the one and only, Spring Gully.

This made the pie a lot better to devour. 

Overall?

Product Vs Packaging: 7/10

Ease of preparation: 8/10

Taste: 6/10

Value for Money: 9/10

Total: 7/10

This would score a Bogan Seal of Approval for Every day Use.