Australia Day

 A tribute to Australian Cuisine. 
*Spoilers alert: There is not an ounce of Jewish-ness to this blog post.

This week bears significance for Aussies. The 26^th of Jan is Ostraya (Australia) day. Not unlike any other Australian public holiday, we celebrate with fireworks, beers (pronounced beeahs) and barbeques. What is the reason for such celebrations you may ask? It is the official national day for Australians, commemorating the arrival of the Captain Cook and his Merry Men – the First Fleet from Great Britain to the Land Down Under back in 1788 (a very young country we are). We celebrate all things Australian, and like every other culture – food just happens to be a part of this.

Lets try an experiment: I say Australian cuisine – you think:

Meat pie?

Vegemite?

Weetbix?

Shrimp on the barbie?

Beer?

While it all sounds great, it isn’t exactly sophisticated or, “cuisine” like. More like a conglomeration of random foods that happen to be enjoyed by Aussies. So this brings me to my next point, what is Australian “cuisine”, and how did it develop? Sorry, not much nutrition included here…

It all started with the Indigenous Australians, where bush tucker was their primary source of nourishment. Animals that were hunted included kangaroos, wallabies and emus, as well as snakes, lizards, witchetty grubs and moths. For some strange reason this cuisine hasn't carried through till today - although it isn’t uncommon to find kangaroo and crocodile sausages sold in local markets and delis. If anyone knows of a Kosher version, please let me know.

Then the Brits came along and took over the Island of Oz. This brought about a whole new selection of food types. Salted meats, roast beef, lamb chops, damper (aussie bread), tea, butter, potatoes in any shape and form, beer and plum pudding. Food was pretty bland and tasteless.

But our cuisine didn’t culminate at the Aboriginals or the British. Instead, it exploded through the wave of immigration after the second World War. Primarily, those from China, Greece, Italy, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Europeans brought us espresso coffee – which has become the post popular beverage ordered in restaurants and cafes around Oz, something I really miss in Israel. Pasta is another dish that was brought to us by the Italians, as well as spag bol (spaghetti bolognaise) and souvlaki, a Greek specialty.  Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese restaurants have become popular venues for locals to eat at, while ingredients such as lemon grass, cardamom and Asian greens are readily available all over.  

Now Australia offers a diverse range of eateries and ingredients. All this aside, there are a few iconic Australian foods that remain prominent in our culture.  Here are some that spring to mind, but there are many, many more.

         Vegemite: offer this to any non-native Australian, and they may mistake it for chocolate spread (Yes, I have tried this before). Surprise them. They will be disgusted by the immediate hit of the salty-yeasty flavour vegemite gives off. Just to throw in a tiny bit of Judaism (not to get totally off topic) – I’ve used vegemite in a cholent before, and it happened to be a hit. It is more commonly eaten with margarine and cheese, although I like it with avocado, cucumbers and lettuce (you may not want to try this at home).

-          Lamingtons. Easy to make yourself: Sponge cake, cut into small squares, dip in melted chocolate, dip in coconut. Voila! If you want to get complicated you can put a layer of jam/cream in between two squares. Lamingtons were named after Lord Lamington (great name) who was the Governor of Queensland. The Lamington was created by accident, through a maidservant of the Lord. The servant dropped the Governors favourite sponge cake into melted chocolate by mistake. Not wanting to waste food, Lord Lamington suggested to dip the cake into coconut to avoid having messy fingers. Everyone loved the “accidental” dessert, and it became a success.

     Fairy bread – a favourite amongst the kiddies, even though I happened to have hated it as a child. I remember the disgust I felt as a 6 year old girl in school, when I opened my lunch box to discover I was given a fairy bread sandwich. I threw it out immediately. The concept however, is quite cool: White bread, butter and 100s and 1000s (otherwise known as sprinkles) sprinkled all over – creating a colourful, exciting lunch for anyone under the age of 10. Sorry, no nutrition there.

-          ANZAC biscuits: the acronym coincidentally stands for, Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, which was established in World War I. Apparently these biscuits were sent by the wives of soldiers overseas because the ingredients last for a while and keep well during transportation. The biscuits are made with rolled oats, flour, coconut, sugar, butter, golden syrup, baking soda and water. On a side note, the term “ANZAC” is protected under Australian law and can only be used with the permission of the Minister for Veteran Affairs.

-          Pavlova: an iconic Australian dessert. No relation to Pavlovian conditioning, instead it was named after the Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova, following a tour she did in Australia and New Zealand. Also called, “pav” – it is a meringue-based desert, topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit like strawberries, passion fruit and kiwifruit. I say, be creative and add whatever you want. I’d go with chocolate, banana, figs and caramel sauce. Too much?

-          MEAT PIE! A real classic. Show up to any footy game (Australian Football – AFL, NOT American football) and the waft of meat pies will result in instant salivation. Minced meat packed inside pastry, dunked in tomato sauce (American version: ketchup). No cutlery needed, just your mouth. Check out this blokes guide on how to eat a meatpie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfSv4ZqkNJg

-        Damper – Australian bread. Israelies have pita, we have damper. It’s identifying characteristic is that it’s baked in the coals of a campfire. Mm.. burnt bread, the best.

All this Australiana talk has made me nostalgic…and possibly hungry