Let's Talk... Food

Sampling native cuisine is certainly part of traveling and living in another country. So let's ask ourselves, other than a host of fantastic brews (that one can only get in Oz, the high alcohol content makes most Australian beers ineligible for import to the US - I've checked) what does Australia have to offer to world cuisine?


"Vegemite dates back to 1922 when the Fred Walker Company, which became Kraft Walker Foods in 1926 and Kraft Foods Limited in 1950, hired a young chemist to develop a spread from one of the richest known natural sources of the vitamin B group - Brewers Yeast. "

While this interesting spreadable substance might resemble something we all know and love, namely chocolate (albeit in a thicker darker form) it tastes nothing like that delectable treat. This is no nutella! Though it does contain obscene amounts of nutrients, it seems to have checked taste at the door, or maybe replaced it with the doormat. After my one experience with vegemite (aka marmite) I knew it was something that would never cross my lips again. I still can't quite fathom how anyone can eat it.

Now an Australian food product that I've grown quite fond of in recent years is the wine. Yum! While I am not a big drinker, goodness knows and it doesn't take much before I am three sheets to the wind, I find Australian wines to be delicious, affordable, and a beverage I can keep coming back to.

The Australian wine industry has exploded and you can now find Oz wines everywhere. If you haven't tasted an Australian Shiraz yet, I highly recommend it. Someone once told me that Australians developed the wine in a box concept. I have not been able to verify this tidbit, and yet for some reason I just don't doubt it.

My last comment on Australia and food relates to slang. Australians have some really fabulous ways of saying things and here are a few examples:

Bickie : biscuit (also "it cost big bikkies" - it was expensive)

Billy : teapot. Container for boiling water.

Binder : 1. Cheese. 2. A hearty meal.

Brekkie : breakfast

Chewie : chewing gum

Chokkie : chocolate

Chook : a chicken

Cuppa : cup of tea

Milk bar : convenience store

Murphy : potato

Plonk : cheap wine

Tucker : food

Snag : sausage