January 29th, 2008
The New Australian Food.
I visited My New Shiny Shoes blog on Australia Day and my eye was caught by the picture of a packet of delicious Tim Tams. As an Australian who lived overseas for some time Michelle knows the foods that are associated with home.
Isn’t it funny that it is things like Tim Tams and Vegemite that we see as typical Australian food when we have such an incredible variety of tastes that are native to this land?
Food for Australia Day should really encompass the things we have come to know as Bush Tucker. No, I don’t mean witchetty grubs and so on, although there is a nice supply in the woodpile!
Lemon Myrtle is one of my favourite native plants. I love the scent of the leaves and the distinctive lemony-lime taste. We have lovely native fruits such as the native limes, raspberries and cherries. We have delicious nuts like the macadamia. We have edible flowers and some interesting native herbs and spices. Now that many of these are commercially available there is no reason not to cook with them.
So why don’t we cook with them? Are we too strongly grounded in our European heritage? Are we too stongly attracted by the Mediterranean and Asian influences that we see everywhere? I am all in favour of trying out cuisines of all sorts but I think that we could include the flavours of Australia in that search, too.
If you don’t know where or how to start then why not try a place like Vic Cherikoff and Dining Downunder? He carries a range of native spices, infused oils and sauces. More importantly he also has some recipe books which use our native ingredients. My choice would be the downloadable ebook called the Australian Menu Planning Guide which is great value at only $20.
Perhaps next Australia Day when we throw our good Aussie lamb chops on the BBQ we will have them seasoned with some gourmet Aussie spices as well.
For a good summary of bush tucker plants and where they grow visit Wikipedia, but don’t go out and help yourself as some plants can be poisonous.
Comments
Our Australian diet tends to be so diverse which is what I love about it. Plus the wonderful selection of fruits and vegetables available all year round. Having lived in England the first half of my life I jump for joy if I see McVities dark chocolate digestive biscuits though, similar to the Tim Tam craving I suppose.
Sueblimely
January 29th, 2008
The words ‘digestive biscuits’ always bring terrrible images to mind. As a child I wondered what they were and why they were so badly named!
Yes, we do have a varied diet, and we are lucky that many of our newer citizens have brought their cuisines with them. I love that about our country.
admin
January 30th, 2008
Yes after living in the UK as well sometimes I find I encounter digestive biscuit cravings as well - lol!
Michelle Sweeney
February 1st, 2008
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