Today we’re going to be talking about what we can learn from Australia about food, cooking and dining. Hopefully it’ll inspire something new in our kitchens. So, quite a few of their food traditions originally came from the indigenous or native Australians, often called the Aborigines. Later on there was a large British influence, as it was a British colony. Australia is now a constitutional monarchy with the King of England as its head of state, and it’s a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, so you’ll find that a lot of the things that are for sale in Australia are similar to what’s available in the UK. I’ll talk about things like vegemite and marmite – good old British things. If you haven’t heard of those, I’m sure it’ll be interesting.
Traditional foods and techniques from the Aborigines are things like using fire pits and earth ovens, smoking food, and eating bush foods like wattle seed, finger lime, kangaroo, of course, and the kakadu plum. These are very powerful flavors, and very recognizable in Australian cuisine.
Being a British colony, colonists brought with them ingredients and food traditions from the UK like flour, sugar, tea, potatoes, and dairy. There’s obviously a lot of sheep in Australia – there’s sheep farming, so beef and lamb are popular. They have classic British dishes like meat pies, roasts like roast beef and roast chicken, stews, puddings like Christmas pudding, and fish and chips. These are common in Australian households, and the British tradition of tea drinking also remains popular today.
So, originally the Aborigines did a lot of hunting, fishing, and gathering, and they have many native foods. The slang term “bush tucker” means things like kangaroo, wattle seed, as I mentioned, et cetera. These foods were used less by settlers, and these days they’ve been rediscovered and incorporated into modern Australian cuisine.
In Australia, you’ve got a good blend of the British, the native Australians Aborigines, and then also other cultures that have settled in Australia. These would be Thai, Vietnamese, Italian, Greek, Lebanese, Chinese, and more that have all brought something to the Australian table. Australia is very multicultural, especially in cities like Sydney and Melbourne. Because of this cultural fusion, food is sometimes used as a bridge between cultures, and there’s lots of experimentation when it comes to well-known or traditional food and modern influences.
For example kangaroo tacos are made by taking the kangaroo meat, cooking it and making Mexican tacos with it. There’s also laksa pasta. Laksa is an Australian soup which is usually made with a coconut cream broth, and then you add various toppings like prawns, chicken, fish, or even tofu. Making that soup thicker and then using it with pasta is something that has been tried.
They’re also very big on barbecue culture – putting things on the “barbie” as they call it. They do a lot of communal cooking, and eating outdoors as they have a very warm climate. A lot of people enjoy doing that.
There’s a lot of seafood obviously, Australia being surrounded by the ocean. Calamari, prawns, barramundi, and oysters are often enjoyed. They’re also big on seasonal produce like avocados, mangoes, and tomatoes, which are staples, and whatever else happens to be in season.
Here are some iconic dishes that you may have heard of. There’s pavlova. This one is not necessarily from Australia, but it’s definitely well loved in that country. Pavlova has a meringue base made in a circle shape, which acts like a shell. Then you put whipped cream and chopped strawberries inside, and you get a dish with a bit of each of all three elements. It’s really good.
Lamingtons are like sponge cake, and they’re dipped in chocolate, sort of soaked, and then coated with coconut. They’re squares of cakey, chocolatey, coconutey yumminess.
There are anzac biscuits. They’re called biscuits, but these are actually cookies made from rolled oats, flour, sugar, butter, sweetener, and et cetera. They’re basically cookies with oats.
The meat pies I mentioned before definitely reflect the British roots. They would probably be small round pies with a gravy and meat filling. Similar to this is sausage rolls. Sausage rolls are encased in puff pastry – usually a cooked pork sausage or some other kind of sausage – wrapped in the puff pastry and baked.
Australians also cook and enjoy nose to tail eating, which means eating the organs, and all the parts of the animal. They have a lot of respect for and like to learn from their indigenous past, and embrace the different multicultural flavors that come from many different people who’ve lived there. They like to let fresh, local ingredients shine. The British settlers introduced the sheep, cattle, and wheat to the country, and those have continued to thrive. There’s now large scale farming both with animal and plant foods.
Another iconic dish that I mentioned is vegemite, or marmite, which is a different brand, and there’s also bovril. Vegemite and Marmite are made from fermented vegetable paste, and bovril is a meat-based one – fermented beef paste. When we were living in California, we had friends who’d never seen this before. They tasted it, and they called it meat jelly. It’s very strong tasting black stuff that’s spreadable. It sounds gross, but it’s actually really delicious. It’s very salty. They taste similar – the vegemite, the Marmite and the bovril – but slightly different. It’s a yeast extract.
To eat it, you spread it on toast. You have some brittle toast with butter, and then a little thin layer of vegemite, Marmite, or Bovril, and it gives you that lovely salty flavor. People either love it or hate it. Once you’ve tried it, it’ll be one or the other, not in between. I think you have to know how to use it. Having the butter really helps, and using a thin layer really helps. If you ever get the chance to try that, you should. It’s a very good savory, but acquired taste, and it’s become a breakfast staple for many Australians.
Here are some interesting Australian ingredients that you might want to try if you can find them. Lemon myrtle is kind of like lemongrass and lemon combined. It’s bright and citrusy flavored, and it’s great in teas, desserts like ice cream, or even in savory dishes like grilled chicken or fish. You’d use it in the same way as you use a bay leaf; put the leaf in and cook with it, and then it adds the flavor.
The wattle seed that I mentioned is kind of nutty, almost like coffee and chocolate flavor combined. It’s great to use in baking; breads, cookies, pancakes, or even ice cream. It needs to be roasted and ground, but you can buy the ready-made powder.
Then the Kakadu plum is tart and sour, but it’s lovely for use in smoothies, sauces, and jams. It’s often also found in powdered form, or you can use it fresh, and then you cook it down.
If you’re brave enough to try eating kangaroo, it’s lean meat and it’s gamey. It’s best grilled, pan-seared like a steak, or in stews. Medium rare is the best temperature to maintain the tenderness, but make sure it’s not overcooked.
Macadamia nuts are common in Australian cuisine. They’re those buttery creamy nuts, the round ones they grate into baking, granolas, or even salads, or eat roasted and salted. Very yummy.
The bunya nut is like the chestnut or the pine nut in flavor; slightly sweet. It’s also great boiled and used in breads, et cetera, but you do need to soak it or roast it before using it.
So, to Australians, food time is time to be together, to have good fellowship with friends and family, often enjoying the barbecue outside. They also like using smoking methods, pickling, and fermenting. They also use marinades quite often, making good spice blends. Just layering the flavors and enjoying the cooking together, outside enjoying the family time, enjoying being together is what they do – they have slow food enjoyed under the sinking sun,
They have delicious treats and desserts. I would definitely recommend trying a pavlova. Research that – it’s pretty easy to make the meringue, and the last part is so easy, just whipped cream and chopped strawberries. The lamingtons are unique, and definitely need to be tried once in your lifetime.
Here are more fun facts about Australian food. Their coffee culture is huge, and they love fancy coffee. A burger “with the lot” means everything on the burger; beef patty, bacon, fried egg, pineapple, lettuce, tomato, even beetroot, and barbecue sauce.
They also sometimes eat crocodile and emu meat. You can find that on restaurant menus, There’s fairy bread, which they love to have at parties. It’s white bread with butter and sprinkles – the little hundreds and thousands colored sprinkles on top. There’s a secret way to eat Tim Tams. The Tim Tam slam means you bite off both ends of the chocolate biscuit, and then you use it as a straw for hot tea or coffee, and it soaks. into the biscuit, and it’s delicious. The inside is kind of aerated and wafery, so that’s how the tea and coffee can be soaked and then sucked through it. I hope you get to try or taste at least one of those things.
To recap then, what can we learn from Australia about food and dining?
Number one – Cook with fresh, locally grown, native ingredients. We can think about our native culture, what they use, and what we like to cook. Use unusual things – explore new ingredients and visit farmer’s markets. Get curious about seasonal produce, and see what you can add to your dishes. Think “what grows naturally here, and how can I cook with it?”
Number two – meals should be social and relaxed. I’m often talking about fancy dinners and fancy meals because I love them, and I think they’re a special time to have as a family, but it’s also important to have relaxed meals where there are fewer expectations, where you’re laid back, where your friends or your kids help you cook, and food helps you to foster connection. Think about simple food and good company with no pressure. Do something that doesn’t take a lot of your time and that doesn’t require you to jump up from the table a lot, so that you can relax and be present and enjoy the fellowship. Have barbecues, brunches; casual, outdoorsy meals built around connection, not necessarily around tradition or ceremony. Make meals social and relaxed.
Point number three is related – get outside and enjoy creation; dine outdoors. It always feels more relaxed, and it somehow helps us to be at peace. It resets our nervous system and our connection with each other. You can have beach dinners, rooftop drinks or dinners, or backyard grills or cookouts, and picnics are always amazing. So, take your dinner outside, take your lunch or your breakfast outside, even if it’s just on a balcony or a park bench.
Pack easy foods that don’t require a lot of preparation or stress – fresh food and a better mood. Eat little things with bread like sandwiches, or have bread to dip into something. There’s fruit, crackers, and all the little picnic foods.
Number four – rethink brunch. Often we’re so stuck in the breakfast and lunch cycle, so this is a great celebration or creative ritual – having brunch. Australians are big on brunch. You can have poached eggs, mashed avocado with something to spread it on or dip into it, like carrots and cucumber sticks or long crackers. You can have ricotta on something, and some fruits. Just enjoy something different in the middle of the day, and perhaps have a bigger meal. You can add yogurt and muffins, maybe egg muffins. Anything that works well for breakfast or lunch, you can combine in your brunch menu. It’s a bit later in the morning than breakfast, but earlier than lunch, and then it carries you through to an early dinner – a chance to slow down in the day. Often this will only work on a Saturday because of work time, but it’s still special to have a different day in the week.
Number five – Experiment with new flavors. How can you or I bring color to a simple weekend meal? Let the ingredients shine. Take what you’ve found at the farmer’s market or grown freshly, or any seasonal fresh ingredients, and try to make some meals where you really let those shine. If you’re making a bolognese, make something that’s got extra fresh basil in it, some fresh tomato puree, and maybe even some fresh tomatoes, just to make that dish extra flavorful. You can also focus on using fewer ingredients. Take something simple like your meat, for instance chicken breasts, and then use lots of fresh herbs, olive oil, and sea salt, instead of using heavy sauces. You can have just a light dessert, like some sliced peaches with cream or whipped cream. Just using high quality ingredients with minimal fuss can actually make the meal easier, simpler, and more delicious.
Number six – Eat more seafood, especially seafood that you know where it comes from – not farmed fish, but wild caught fish. Cook it on the grill, or in parchment paper with butter. Simple fish can be delicious if we just cook it simply. Use some oven roasted or grilled vegetables with it, and it’s a very healthy meal.
Number seven – flavorful and enjoyable trumps healthy. It’ll be healthy if you’re cooking with fresh ingredients that are in season. What you can do is think about the appearance, and make it visually appealing and craveable, instead of being restrictive. Use lots of spices. Use citrus like lemon or orange. Use your herbs, your seeds, and even good fats to make the vegetables delicious and exciting. Think about what’s nourishing and what do I look forward to rather than a restrictive, what’s healthy? You can use a zesty dressing, add some lemon zest and some ginger, or whatever you like in your dressing, and add all the good seasoning to your roasted vegetables and your proteins.
I hope you get try at least one of these delicious dishes! In Australian, have a gud day mate!
