Lamb is the meal of choice for New Zealand families this Christmas, according to a survey by Retail Meat New Zealand.
The poll of more than 1000 New Zealanders, run in conjunction with Beef + Lamb New Zealand and NZPork, 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% of the vote with ham coming in a close second at 35% and third in line was beef with 13.1%.
Most are opting for a traditional style meal with a barbecue as a second preference and 18.5% of respondents said they will be catering for a big crowd.
Beef + Lamb NZ chief executive Kit Arkwright said the holiday season is a great time of the year for people 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 centerpiece 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 this week, so fill up your fridges and freezers.”
Of those polled, 36.8% said they expect to have 10 or more people for Christmas Day and 40.2% will spend 2-3 days preparing for their Christmas feast.
More thanb 58% said they will be eating their main Christmas meal between midday and 2pm on Christmas Day with 24% eating after 2pm in the afternoon.
Cooking their Christmas meal in an oven came out top of the poll with the barbecue following closely behind, while 61.8% said they expect to have at least two days’ worth of leftovers to wade through.
Christmas isn’t Christmas without a mouth-watering dessert and once again pavlova took out top spot with 68.5% having this iconic kiwi dessert on their Christmas menu.
Trifle followed by strawberries and ice cream were second and third in line respectively as sweet treats.
The question of when to begin playing Christmas music received the highest percentage of votes (79.2%) agreeing that Christmas music should only be played in December.
