With National Pie Day coming up on January 23, naturally we’re prepped to get all pie pie crazy. Research from Betway has revealed the most popular pies in Manchester, and it turns out that, unsurprisingly, us Mancunians love a good old pork pie, and it is the most popular type of pie in the city, as well as the UK as a whole.
Using a trends tool, Betway has determined which pies and fillings are the UK’s most popular, including the rate of digital search volumes per million Brits. The research also looked into Manchester’s individual pie trends, and first up, we have the classic pork pie, most popular of all the pies in both Manchester and the entire UK – obviously we’re trendsetters.
Well known and loved across the UK, pork pies are a popular choice for many. They are particularly loved in Leicester, with an astonishing 812.26 online mentions per million locals, compared to the national average of 418.91, and Manchester, with 255.61.
The UK-wide study included in the top 10 the humble pasty, including Cornish, steak, and vegetable, shepherd’s pie and pot pie. In seventh place came cheese and onion pie, which is particularly popular in the city of Manchester, with 59.64 mentions per million. Perfect for lunch or tea time, this pie is a longstanding UK favourite.
According to the study, Manchester’s favourite pies are as follows:
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Pork Pie
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Cheese and Onion Pie
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Pasty
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Meat and Potato Pie
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Shepherd’s Pie
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Steak and Ale Pie
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Pot Pie
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Chicken and Bacon Pie
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Chicken and Gravy Pie
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Banoffee Pie
Of course, Greater Manchester also houses the pie capital of the UK: Wigan. You can’t get better that a Wigan pie, and you could even go as far as to try a pie barm – recently voted one of the worst English sandwiches, which we think it pretty unfair…
For most of our lifetimes, people from Wigan have been called ‘pie-eaters‘, whether it’s in rugby or football chants, as a derogatory term or a term of endearment. This is said to come from the coal miners’ strike in 1926, when Wigan miners were the first to call off strikes and go back to work – so were said to be ‘eating humble pie’. We will say, though, many argue that Wiganers were also the first to start striking.
Since then, though, Wigan has doubled down on its peoples’ nickname, now having more pie shops per square metre than any other UK town, as well as holding the annual pie-eating contest at Harry’s Bar. So, since we seem to love pies so much in the UK, perhaps you should consider giving Wigan a visit for a pork pie.