Dining Down Under
An important aspect of Aussie life, Australian food is a melting pot of
multicultural cuisines, with each incoming immigrant bringing in his or her own
tastes, spices, and flavors. Originally reflecting British cookery, settlers introduced
European animals including cattle, sheep, deer, and rabbits. Some were forced to
live off native animals while a few others adopted the Aboriginal diet, creating a
new cuisine called bush tucker. Exposed to new animals such as kangaroos and
echidnas as well as other various edible plants, location forced Australians to give
up some of the aspects of European cuisine and explore different ingredients and
styles of cooking. Constantly changing, Australian cuisine has evolved into a
complex and multi-faceted art form.
Australian cuisine is greatly influenced by historical heritage, which
impacts what they like to eat and their everyday meals. With the arrival of the First
Fleet in 1788, came British cuisine: hundreds of pounds of flour, dozens of pounds
of tea, large amounts of salt and sugar, cattle and sheep.1 Relying heavily on
imported foods, a typical ration for a convict every week included:
…Three-and-a-half kilograms (seven pounds) bread (dried biscuit)
or flour, three-and-a-half kilograms (seven pounds) beef or two
kilograms (four pounds) pork, plus peas, oatmeal, butter, cheese
and vinegar. Woman got less.2
Since then, European cuisine still greatly influences Australian cuisine. A huge
consumer of meat, Australia ranks second in red meat consumption per person in
the world.3 A traditional Aussie day includes three meals:
…Grilled lamb chops or beef steaks, sausages, bacon and eggs [for
breakfast]; cold meats for lunch, and a dinner of roast or grilled
lamb, beef, or pork. Meals are served with cooked vegetables and
1
Ozculture newsletter, "Australian Food and Drink," Culture.Gov.Au,
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/foodanddrink/ (accessed October 3, 2009).
2 Rajendra, Vijeya, and Sundran Rajendra. "Food." In Cultures of the World: Australia, by Vijeya
Rajendra and Sundran Rajendra, 113-121. New York: Marshall Cavendish, 2002.
3 Rajendra and Sundran, 113
accompanied by bread.4
Although health conscious and new cuisines are influencing what Australians eat
today, many still rely on European cuisine and meat as a main staple.
Heritage is not the only factor affecting Australian cuisine; geography also
plays a major role. Water, a scarce resource in Australia, greatly influences the
amount and types of food common to Australia. In fact,
Crucial to the modern agricultural economy are the available
water resources and their impoundment behind dams and
reservoirs. On this driest of the settled continents, two thirds of
the area depends on surface-water conservation and irrigation…5
Crops like wheat, which thrive under heat and require minimal water, have
become a staple in Australian diet as well as a main export. Potatoes, sugar, and
grapes (for wine) also flourish in Australian territory. Although food is imported
from other, more lush countries, transportation significantly increases the price of
the food and thus is less popular than locally grown or raised food. A shortage of
water is another reason why beef and mutton are so favored. With so much land
and the Great Artesian Basin as an aid, cattle and sheep (who do not require much
water in comparison to other animals) flourish. Cattle, closely tied to dairy output,
makes Australia a lover of butter, cheese, and liquid milk. In addition, Australia is
a continent surrounded by water, making it possible for most of the population of
Australia to enjoy:
…Lobsters and prawns, abalone and scallops, and the delicate
Sydney rock oyster… [the] fishing industry is surprisingly small
and distinctly local, apart from canned tuna, barracuda, and
Australian salmon.6
4
Rajendra and Sundran, 113
Encyclopedia Britannica, "Australia," SIRS Discoverer,
http://discoverer.prod.sirs.com/discoweb/disco/do/article?urn=urn%3Asirs%3AUS%3BARTIC
LE%3BART%3B0000220849 (accessed October 3, 2009).
6 Encyclopedia Britannica
5
Geography, considered a downfall of Australia by some, greatly influences
Australian cuisine and produces a surprisingly large variety of meats, crops, and
seafood.
Bush tucker, the cuisine of the Aboriginal people, was present before the
arrival of white settlement and helped the Aborigines survive off the harsh
environment of Australia for thousands of years.
Far from being a new culinary form, [bush tucker] has been
practiced by the Aborigines for 40,000 years. During their long
association with the country, Aborigines have exploited what
would seem to be the most unlikely sources of food.7
Recently gaining popularity among Australians and tourists, bush tucker is a
distinctive Australian cuisine.8 It focuses on edible animals and plants that are
specifically found in Australia. One popular dish,
… The Witchetty grub, [is] a fat, white slug-like creature that
inhabits the bush of the same name, and which was eaten raw.
Today, Witchetty grubs are exported internationally as “wood
lobsters,” with the recommendation to serve them lightly
sautéed with a few herbs and spices.9
Other popular foods include kangaroo steaks, stews, kangaroo tail soups (common
because of the prolificacy of the animal), crocodile steaks, snakes, goannas,
turtles, birds, all kinds of fish and eels, ants, wild bees, wild cereals and grasses,
and native roots, and fruits and figs.10 Plants and small animals are usually eaten
raw, while larger animals are usually roasted. Not only enjoyed because of its
exotic appeal, it is also highly nutritious and tasty.11 Quite sophisticated, bush
foods like berries, roots and nectars often require advanced preparation techniques
7
Rajendra and Sundran, 117
Rajendra and Sundran, 117
9 Rajendra and Sundran, 117
10 Rajendra and Sundran, 117
11 Rajendra and Sundran, 117
8
to neutralize toxins and to make them palatable and nutritious.12 In the past, each
tribe usually had a wide array of different plants and animals at their disposal
because most were nomadic and traveled from season to season. Other, less
nomadic tribes, generally stayed in a region with bountiful supplies and found that
it was not necessary to move as much in search of food and game. This, along with
the sharing of recipes and knowledge between tribes, has created the wondrous
and exotic bush tucker cuisine.
Historical heritage, geography, and bush tucker along with other influences
like immigration combine in making Australian cuisine what it is today. All
playing an important role, each brings another aspect of the amazing variety foods
and preparation techniques to Australia. Although, strictly speaking it is all “just
food”, cuisine is much more than that. It is part of the culture of a country. Not
only enjoyable, cuisine is a vital part of the essence of Australian spirit. By
accepting Aborigines diet, people are also accepting the significance Aboriginal
people had on Australia. By accepting multicultural cuisine, people are also
accepting the different nations that make up Australia. Cuisine, not only vital to
Australia, has an important role in all the countries of the world.
12
Ozculture newsletter
Bibliography
Encyclopedia Britannica. “Australia.” SIRS Discoverer. http://discoverer.prod.sirs.com/
discoweb/disco/do/
article?urn=urn%3Asirs%3AUS%3BARTICLE%3BART%3B0000220849
(accessed October 3, 2009).
Ozculture newsletter. “Australian Food and Drink.” Culture.Gov.Au.
http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/foodanddrink/ (accessed October
3, 2009).
Pascoe, Elise. “Introduction: A Food Paradise.” Introduction to Australia the Beautiful,
by Elise Pascoe, 15-23. San Fancisco: Chronicle Books, 2004.
Rajendra, Vijeya, and Sundran Rajendra. “Food.” In Cultures of the World: Australia, by
Vijeya Rajendra and Sundran Rajendra, 113-121. New York: Marshall Cavendish,
2002.