We’ve even got lamb mince, pork mince, lean chicken mince, veal mince, and pork and veal mince. You can even find turkey mince and fish mince if you look hard enough, which is all well and good but what do you do with it?

Butcher Steve hack says Aussies are catching on to the idea that mince doesn't always have to be beef.

"Mince is the most versatile product out there on the fresh food market. It is great value for money and it is also nutritious for the kids and the whole family and survey's have suggested it is the most prepared food in Australia. Be it in a burger, a taco or everyone's favourite, the Italian inspired bolognese," Mr Hack said.

"For a lot of Italian cooking they [sic] ask for pork and veal, Middle Eastern, lamb mince, and a lot of Asian cooking they ask for pork and chicken mince.”

Nutritionist Matt O'Neill says mince is a healthy choice for families.

"Mince can be really healthy if it's lean and the leaner it is the more protein - protein's good for building muscles, good for recovery, and it actually makes us feel fuller, so mince is a good thing to include in dishes to help you lose weight, because you eat less as well," Mr O'Neill said.

If you are at a supermarket buy the top quality gourmet mince. At a butcher stick with premium topside - this way, nutritionist Matt O’Neil says the fat content will be under 5 per cent and the salt content low.

"The 2 per cent and the 5 per cent that's really, really lean. In fact, if you think about the leanness, you go game meat, maybe kangaroo meat, kangaroo meat burns off all the fat just running around before they catch it, so if you don't mind eating kangaroos, that's going to be your leanest," Mr O'Neill said.

"With chicken mince, be careful that it's colour is not too white - that would indicate a high percentage of fat. With pork mince, look for the heart smart variety for low fat."

Food authorities have caught retailers adding sulphur dioxide to their meat to make it look brighter and fresher than it really is. To avoid this, only use butchers with high turnover and if you can afford it, buy only top quality mince. The large supermarkets are also a good bet as they guarantee no sulphur dioxide is added to their beef mince.

"You're going to pay more for five star mince, but here's how you can pat it out. If you cook chilli con carne or Bolognese with another 50 per cent of vegetables; diced carrots, zucchini, you can even put in red lentils as well, you're going to dramatically reduce the cost, eat healthy and save money as well. And the kids won't even know they are getting veges," Mr O'Neill said.

Recipes

Mamma Marisa's Spaghetti Bolognese

Chop brown onions and fry in olive oil
Add 500 grams of 5 star premium mince
Add 1/4 cup of wine
Add 1 bottle of tomato sauce
A pinch of cinnamon
A table spoon of salt
Water...

Ragu Bolognaise - Damien Pignolet, Bistro Moncur

3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
100g finely diced fat pancetta

• Cook to release the fat in the pancetta

250g finely diced onion
150g finely diced celery
200g finely diced carrot

• Sweat, covered over low heat for 10 mintues.

1kg medium minced beef at room temperature

• Add to the vegetables and use a fork to break up the mince - don't brown - just let the redness turn to grey

1 bottle white wine

• Add and reduce to dry

600mL milk

• Add and reduce until almost dry

1L tomato pasta

• Add and cook for 10 minutes

2x450g tomatoes squeezed in little bits

• Return to the boil

Salt, pepper and nutmeg

• Lay a piece of baking paper on the surface

Cook in the oven at 110-120oC for one hour.

Lamb and veal bolognese - Tom Walton, Bistro Moncur

Ingredients

500g lamb mince
500g veal mince
50ml olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped
2 clove garlic, finely chopped
zest of orange
1 sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
4 fillets anchovy, finely chopped
2 tblsp organic tomato paste
100ml white wine
250ml veal stock

Method:

Cook onion, carrot, celery, garlic, anchovy, rosemary, orange, over a low heat until soft.

About 10 minutes, add the mince, increase the heat and cook the mince to break up.

Add tomato paste, white wine and veal stock and cook over a low heat for 1.5 hours.

Add water if the sauce becomes too dry.

Serve with parmesan.