Oz Eats

The kinds of grub that makes Aussies Aussies and stops them from starving at the cricket.

Grub, a.k.a. tucker, a.k.a. food, is an intergral part of Oz. For one thing, we'd be dead without it. Apart from that, Australians (like most people) place a great emphasis on food throughout their lives. Australia has fairly little common native foods. The Aborigines have a wealth of different types of foods which they have hunted or foraged for for centuries, although most of these foods are either eaten raw or roasted without additives, in other words Aborigines don't have much use for recipies as far as their traditional foods are concerned.

Imported (non - Aboriginal) Aussies aren't, unfortunately, much better. Most "traditional" Australian foods, while tasting good, are simple to prepare. Due to Australia's youth, all "Aussie" foods have traceable links to other countries, mainly England. Things like the roast and three veg and the meat pie are originally English, as are scones. There are a small minority of wholly Australian foods, such as Vegemite (very salty spread), which the rest of the world detests, and Pavlovas (meringue based cakes). Actually, Kiwis (New Zulunders) invented Pavlovas first, but we like to claim them as our own. Oh yes, there's lamingtons as well. These are two sponge cake squares with some sort of jam or filling in between, with the whole lot covered with chocolatey stuff and shredded coconut. Very messy to eat.

There are, however, a new series of uniquely Australian foods emerging. Things like kangaroo kebabs and crocodile steak are gaining popularity, and Aussies are also inventing more and more of their own recipies. A large influence on Australian foods is the availability and low price of meats - Australia is the world's largest beef producer.

Overall, Australians eat a large variety of food, consisting of Australian dishes and mainstream overseas dishes. Chinese and Italian varieties are particularly popular, although all sorts of meals, from Burmese to Ukranian, are available.