Australian Food Tips
Read these 43 Australian Food Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Australian tips and hundreds of other topics.
Australian Sweets
The traditional Australian evening meal is often followed by a serving of sweets or dessert. This can take many forms including tropical fruits such as passion fruit or mangos, custards, creamed rice, puddings, fruit and pudding pies, cheese cakes, Pavlova (a meringue like dessert), and pikelets (tiny pancakes) covered with Golden syrup (a cane sugar syrup). Weather and time of year have a big impact on choice of sweets. In winter the evening might be topped off with a hot cup of Milo.
Australian Meat Pies
If only I could find a real meat pie here in Yankeeland. For a snack or a meal they are hard to beat. Every Aussie bakery, carry out, food shop, on the road petrol station, roadside food stand, etc. has meat pies for sale. They are always served hot. Occasionally you can find something without meat in them like cheese and broccoli or cheese and egg, but REAL meat pies have meat in them, like steak and kidney, mincemeat and onion, meat and mashed potatoes, meat and mashed peas, meat and mushroom, etc. All of these will have gravy in them and will have a light pastry shell. They are nothing like the pot pies in America, but are in some ways similar to a good English pastie. They still are most popular fast food in Australia. They are an Australian cultural icon and have their own reserved space in the history of Australian food.
Australian Lollies
Australians have a strong affinity for their lollies. They are very different than the kind of candies made in America, and are influenced of course, by British and European confectionaries. Australian candy is a reflection of Australian culture. A major distinguishing feature of Australian candies is that they are made using cane sugar rather than the American variety which rely on corn syrup. This gives a distinctively richer and fuller taste to Australian candies, at least based on this Australians' taste buds. There are many to choose from, but “the best” would include Violet Crumble, Cherry Ripes, Jaffas, Flakes, Pollywaffles, Turkish Delights, Minties, Fantails and Milo Bars. Cadbury, Nestles', and Allen are the major Australian candy makers. Cadbury also makes a wonderful series of children's collectibles which come in “you build it” pieces inside a plastic egg, inside a chocolate shell, known as Yowies. And if you like licorice, the unique, full, rich taste of Pascalls will remind you of what licorice used to taste like. Yum, yum!!!
Geographic Influences
Australia's food culture is affected by both its geography and history. Australia is a vast island continent which is approximately the same size as the United States. It has a great many different weather and climate zones, ranging from the tropics of northern Queensland to the cold mountainous wilderness of Tasmania. This allows Australians to enjoy a wide range of natural foods including pineapples, passion fruit, mangoes, bananas, pawpaw, sugar cane, macadamia nuts, grapes, oranges, lemons, apples, pears, and peaches. The great majority of Australians live in close proximity to the ocean which brings an abundance of fish, oysters, prawns (shrimp), crab, lobster, mussels, Morton Bay bugs, etc. And the climate in most areas of the continent allows for backyard gardens to be fruitful for most months of the year. All of these geographic influences make for a vast array of wonderful foods to be easily available to a large majority of Aussies
Morning and Afternoon Tea
Tea is a very strong tradition carried over from English and colonial heritage. Morning and afternoon tea is still celebrated in almost ritual form throughout the country. Loose tea is the tradition but the convenience of tea bags are making their impact. Teas are many, including Nerada, Kinkarra, Bushells, Madura, and Billy Tea brands. Tea is served with or without milk and sugar and is usually served with a wide variety of biscuits (cookies), tarts, scones, cakes or pastries. Favorites might include items like Lamingtons, Tim Tams, Scotch Fingers, Iced Vovos, Shortbread Creams, etc. The icon of biscuit (cookie) makers in Australia is Arnott's. In some job site situations where making tea is not possible, it is often replaced with chocolate milk. Coffee is gaining popularity including in its more sophisticated forms and combinations, as in the Italian coffee shop tradition. Additional coffee traditions have come to Australia with emigrants from countries like Greece and Turkey.
Australian Lunch
The Australian lunch can be made up of a wide range of traditional Australian foods. An Aussie meat pie and a bottle of chocolate milk or milkshake do well. Maybe a sausage roll or two. A Vegemite sandwich still works and even salad sandwiches are popular. Australian food history allows you to make a sandwich out of almost anything, like baked beans, sweet corn, mushrooms and buttered sauce, fish paste, banana and sugar, cold spaghetti, you name it, an Aussie will make a sandwich out of it. Hamburgers are popular, but with their own style, like adding a fried egg, pickled beet root (delicious), and pineapple. Or for a truly traditional Australian lunch maybe a counter lunch at the local hotel (pub), usually an outstanding and inexpensive hot meal. Lunch is usually not overly large as it is often getting hot outside and one just recently finished morning tea anyway
Australian Fish and Chips
An old reliable mainstay of Australian food culture is fish and chips. Most Australians live pretty much along the coast, so Australian seafood is a constant part of the diet. If you're lucky you can catch lobster or crabs, scrape oysters or mussels off the rocks or pick up a kilo or two of prawns at the co-op for a feast. But if you just need to pop in to the local shop for a bit of a feed, good old fish and chips are hard to beat. Fresh fish deep fried in batter with a big helping of chips (French fries) wrapped up in newspaper and doused with English malt vinegar with tomato sauce on the chips is traditional English and Australian fare. Wow. Makes me mouth water, matie.
Bushed Pork Fillet
Bushed Pork Filet. 4 pork filets; 200g Warrigal greens; 16 Bunya nut halves, boiled, shelled and sliced; 150g spreadable Kakadu plum; 20g Munthari; pinch salt; pinch pepper; 225ml Kakadu plum and port wine sauce; 1 lt pork stock. Sauce: 150ml demi glace; 50ml port wine; 30g spreadable Kakadu plum. Method: Butterfly the pork filet lengthwise and flatten with a meat mallet. Place Warrigal greens, spreadable Kakadu plum, Muntharies, and Bunya nut slices on the pork. Season with salt and pepper. Roll the filet and secure it with tooth picks. Place in a tray and cover with the stock and poach for approximately 20-30 minutes. Heat demi glace, port wine, and Kakadu plum spread in a pot and simmer. Serve sliced pork fillet on some of the sauce.
Australian Tea (Dinner)
Evening tea (or dinner) consists of the main meal dish, usually meat, although a growing percentage of Aussies are becoming vegetarian. It will be served with lots of fresh vegetables from the backyard garden or a local market. Because of weather factors most Australians have backyard gardens which they keep going most of the year in all but the most southerly environs. There is also an abundance of small local market shops in cities and towns where daily shopping for fresh foods and produce is a tradition, although they now have to fight with the large chains based on or imported from America. Potato and pumpkin are still very much a staple. Pumpkins are often “Blue Knobs” or “Queensland Blues,” very meaty and delicious. Salads with cold meats, chutney and pickles or seafoods (prawns, crab, etc.) are very popular as most people enjoy many months of long, hot summers. This is often followed by sweets (dessert) of a wide range. Of course, as Australian culture and the ethnic makeup of the country changes, the traditional Australian foodsAustralian foods give way to a more diverse range of options and the development of a new Australian food culture and history.
Bush Fruits
Fruits. Generally, bush fruits are added as garnishings and flavorings, occasionally being cooked down completely or puréed and reduced to extract their full characteristics, but losing the visual appeal unless additional whole fruits are added to finish. Some fruits are best not served whole, for example: bush tomatoes are too strongly flavored and are better chopped or used in their powdered form (akudjura). Illawarra plums do not tend to soften on cooking and their occasional astringency make blending Illawarra plums their best application. Add dark cherries in equal volume to the plums as an extender with minimal effect to the interesting yet subtle plum taste. Kakadu plums are also rarely used whole due to their fibrous seed. Spreadable Kakadu plum is the preferred starting material for glazes, sauces and as the base for chili or garlic and onion confit etc. Large wild limes, rosella and Davidsons plums can be cooked down to meat jams whereas the small wild limes are ideal for garnishes, particularly sugar-soaked and set in the center of a similarly soaked rosella flower with its petals spread. Lemon aspen is more economical in juice form as is the Top End cheesefruit. Munthari and riberry can be cooked hard and will not cook down nor lose their flavor while quandong and pepperberries are better gently simmered.
Australian Breakfast
Breakfast is normally an early meal to get you started before the heat of the day arrives. There will be a variety of foods served based on local weather, local food tradition, and the amount of physical labor involved in one's day. Typical traditional food favorites would include: cereals such as Weet Bix and Vita Brits (whole wheat biscuits) with milk, honey, European muesli and fresh fruit, or for the winter, hot porridge (oatmeal) with milk and a dab of butter melting in the top of it all; toast and marmalade jam and other fruit jams, local honeys, and of course that all time favorite Vegemite; and for the heartier appetites we have Aussie sausages, steak and eggs, bacon, bubble and squeak (left over from the night before cabbage, potato and pumpkin all fried up). Of course, no real Aussie meal would be complete without a cup of tea or maybe two, or three. As with peoples all around the world, Australian breakfasts are determined by Australian culture and food history.
Aniseed Myrtle Oil
Aniseed myrtle oil flavor - Subtle pernod-like aniseed flavor with a sweet after taste. Color and Appearance - Transparent pale yellow fluid. Typical Use - Flavor cream, milk, oil, vinegar, or stock for desserts, sauces, dressings. Suits apricot and pear flavors. Particularly good in ice cream. Helpful Hints - Flavor dissipates on heating so best used as a post-cooking flavoring at 2 to 4 drops per liter of product. Storage and Packaging - Cool, 125ml bottles. Special note - Pure essence available for food manufacturers.
Gumleaf Salmon Sushi
Gumleaf Salmon Sushi. Prep. time 10 mins. 2 cups cooked vinegar rice (see Lemon myrtle sushi recipe); 100g smoked salmon, sliced thinly and in strips; 2 drops gumleaf oil; 200ml salad oil; 6 sheets toasted nori. On bamboo stick sushi mat, lay a piece of nori and spread enough rice to make a cm layer. Lay out a strip of smoked salmon. Mix the gumleaf and salad oils and brush a small amount over the smoked salmon. Using water for sealing the edges of the nori, roll into 2 to 3cm diameter rolls. Taste test a slice (cut with a sharp, wet knife) to check gumleaf after-taste and adjust amount of oil if necessary.
Beef with Garlic and Gumleaf
Beef with Garlic and Gumleaf. Prep. time 30 mins. 4 x 200g beef strip loin; 15ml oil; 30g butter; 30g fine diced onion; 1 clove finely chopped garlic; 150ml veal or beef stock; 100ml cream; 10ml cheesefruit juice; 2 to 3 drops gumleaf oil seasonings; 250g blanched Rainforest herb fettuccine; 300g finely sliced and blanched red and green capsicums, zucchini; 100g finely sliced and blanched spring onions; 25ml macadamia nut oil. Season the strip loin and sear all over in a pan with hot oil then bake at 180ºC for 15 minutes and set aside to rest. Drain the fat from the pan, add butter, onion, and garlic and sauté until clear and not browned. Deglaze with stock and reduce to half. Add cream and reduce by half again. Add the cheesefruit juice. Finish with the gumleaf oil adding one drop at a time and taste testing between each addition. The gumleaf should be an after taste. Sauté the blanched vegetables and fettuccine in the macadamia nut oil and turn four servings on a fork to make a pasta nest. Slice the meat and plate up into four serving. Garnish each serving with the pasta nest and sauce the meat to finish.
Australian Thai-style corn and lime soup
Tom yum bush (Australian Thai-style corn and lime soup). Prep. time 25 mins. 1 liter water; 1 large onion, sliced; 1 medium carrot, diagonal sliced; 1 medium zucchini, diagonal sliced; corn kernels from 2 cobs; 8 Chinese or shitake mushrooms, sliced; 1 teaspoon coriander seeds; 250g packet lemon myrtle fettuccine; 2 tablespoons soy sauce; 2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce; 1 tablespoon mirin; 1 teaspoon ground lemon myrtle; 4 small wild limes or 2 large limes finely sliced. Bring the water to a boil and add the onion and carrot slices. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and the coriander seeds and cook a further 5 minutes. Add the fettuccine, cover and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until the pasta and the carrots are done. Finish with the remaining seasonings, adding the lemon myrtle and wild limes and removing the pot from the heat. Let stand for a few minutes to allow the flavors to infuse and serve, allowing one small lime per serving. This soup can also be served chilled as a summer soup.
Bungwall Fern
Bungwall Fern. Botanical name: Blechnum indicum. This fern has fronds to 1m length. It grows in swampy areas in many Queensland districts. While known as Bungwall by aborigines in Moreton Bay, further north it is called Dugal. Uses: The tuberous root was soaked, roasted, and ground on grinding stones to make flour, and then cooked to make "johnny cake." Source: Plants - Bush Tucker Medicinal and Other Uses of Minjerribah - Iselin & Shipway
Aniseed myrtle ice cream
Aniseed myrtle ice cream. Prep. time 10 mins plus freezing time. 500ml milk; 6 egg yolks; 250g caster sugar; 1 heaped tablespoon (10g) ground aniseed myrtle; 600ml thickened cream. Bring the milk to the boil. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar and pour on the boiling milk, stirring all the time. Return to the saucepan and cook while stirring until the mixture coats the back of the spoon. Remove from the heat and add the aniseed myrtle. Leave to cool and add the cream. Churn in an ice cream machine.
Vegemite
“And he just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich.” That line from Men at Work's smash hit “I Come from the Land Down Under” reflects the total identification of Australians with Vegemite and Vegemite with Australians. To me, above everything else other than sunshine, vegemite is the common denominator of all Australians. A yeast extract which is very high in vitamin B and requires no refrigeration, this spread is what Australians grow up on. From a little smear on the babies dummie (pacifier), to the samich (sandwich) of bread, butter and vegemite in the school lunch, to a lifetime of vegemite and toast at breakfast or as a snack, vegemite cuts through all socio-economic strata and very well should be what appears on the Great Shield of Australia. Only kidding, please forgive me. Yanks and others make the mistake of spreading it like peanut butter or jam. The more, the better. NO, NO. Kind of scrape it on, like you might not be able to get any more any time soon and you want to conserve it. As a vegemite connoisseur I recommend toast, butter, vege, a thin slice of cheese and a slice of wonderful fresh real tomato. YUM, YUM, YUM. The Vegemite story as presented on the back of the jar says, “Vegemite – Australian Born and Bred. The Vegemite story started in 1923 after war had delayed supplies of imported yeast extracts. Fred Walker, a business visionary and founder of Fred Walker & Co. enlisted the support of Dr. Cyril P. Callister, a brilliant young scientist to create an Australian made yeast spread. After many attempts they developed a spread that would fit the bill. But what to call it? The company could not decide so they ran a competition. The response was overwhelming so there was only one fair way to decide a winner. Fred's daughter Sheilah pulled a name from a hat. That name was ‘Vegemite' and an Australian icon was born. At that same time Fred Walker joined forces with a Canadian James Kraft, to start a joint venture company – The Kraft Walker Cheese Company. Vegemite has been made in Melbourne since 1923. And it is from here that we continue to put a rose in every cheek.”
Creped Crustaceans
Creped Crustaceans. Prep. time 30 mins. This dish requires the crepes to be made beforehand and then some skill and timing to serve six. Single servings prepared on order with pre-prepared crepes is easier. The sousing mixture of white wine, white wine vinegar, and water is ideal for all seafoods which should be just cooked to rare. An alternative mix, particularly for stronger flavored seafoods, for example, prawns, is a mix of a dark beer e.g. Tooheys Old, thickened with nut butter, beurre manié or cream. Method: 6 of each of the preceding crepes; 200ml white wine; 200ml white wine vinegar; 200ml water; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon honey; 6 large king prawns; 6 large yabbies or 12 small ones; 6 large Balmain or Moreton Bay bugs or 12 small ones; 1 tablespoon cold butter; 2 teaspoons lemon aspen juice; 1 egg yolk; 1 tablespoon quandong nut; and almond butter; decorative salad vegetables and fine sliced blanched colored capsicum for garnish. Onto 6 warmed plates lay out one of each of the three crepes; native thyme, wattle, and Australian Cajun, folded in half in an arc. Cover the plates with a hot wet towel. In a medium saucepan bring the white wine, white wine vinegar, and water to the boil. Sweeten with the honey and add the salt. Add the seafoods, prawns first, bugs next, and quickly followed by the yabbies. Cook briefly until just creamy white and then 30 seconds longer. Remove and drain. Plate out the prawns under the flap of the Australian Cajun crepes, the yabbies on the wattle crepes and the bugs on the native thyme crepes. Re-cover and keep warm under the hot wet towel. To each of three small pans on medium heat add about 100ml of the sousing broth. Reboil one and reduce to half. While this first pan is reducing, take the second pan of broth; add 2 teaspoons of lemon aspen juice and whisk in one egg yolk. Place on very low heat and continue whisking until thick and frothy. Uncover the plates and pour the lemon aspen sabayon over the bugs. Remove the first pan from the heat and add the cold butter. Stir in and use to garnish the Cajun prawns. Boil the third pan of broth. Add 1 tablespoon of the quandong nut and almond butter. Stir to thicken and use to garnish the yabbies. Finish garnishing the plates with the salad and serve.
Brushetta
Brushetta. Prep. time 15 mins. This cross-cultural specialty can also be based upon oil marinated vegetables, for example, colored capsicums, eggplant, artichokes, and mushrooms. 8 slices of high country bread (mountain pepper bread); 260g jar bush tomato chutney; 2 ripe Roma tomatoes; 8 basil leaves; 2 tablespoons akudjura; 1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese. Halve the tomatoes and squeeze out the juice. Finely chop the tomato flesh leaving the skin on and combine with the bush tomato chutney. Tear the basil leaves into small pieces and also mix through. In a separate bowl mix the akudjura and cheese. Toast the high country bread, spread on the chutney mix, and sprinkle with the akudjura topping. Cut into appropriately sized pieces and serve as an appetizer. An embellishment could be the addition of meats, for example, a beef knuckle medallion making the dish, Knuckled Brushetta.
Bunya Bunya Nuts
Bunya Bunya Nuts are like our macadamia nuts - just delicious! I know that we export our macadamias, but we don't export Bunya bunya nuts as yet. I would like to see these used as satay sauces. I have made some stunning satay sauces from macadamias - and can only get Bunya bunya nuts when I go back to Western Australia. I have not experimented with Bunya bunya nut satay sauce yet.
Akudjura crusted blackened salmon cutlets
Welcome to the modern Australian native cuisine. These recipes give you some clues on how to use unique Australian ingredients. We trust you will find your favorites and hope your visits are frequent and rewarding. Akudjura crusted blackened salmon cutlets: 4 salmon cutlets; 4 tablespoons akudjura; 1 egg, beaten; butter for frying. Brush one surface of the cutlets with the egg and coat thickly with the akudjura. Heat the butter in a frying pan to smoking and fry the unseasoned side of each cutlet until cooked half way through. Turn the cutlets over and finish frying, blackening the akudjura. Using tongs, remove the backbone and long bones and serve the cutlets with a native pepperberry potato cake or prepared lemon myrtle fettuccine. Drizzle the plate with a thin lemon aspen honey soy sauce.
Baby Barramundi/Munthari Butter Sauce
Whole Baby Barramundi and Munthari Butter Sauce. 400g whole baby barramundi; 30ml vegetable oil; 2 drops gumleaf oil (careful, this product is very strong); 1 tbsp butter; 30g finely chopped leek; ½ cup munthari berries; pinch of ground lemon myrtle. Combine the vegetable oil and gumleaf oil and heat in a frypan to smoking temp. Pan fry fillets until skin is crispy (about 2 mins). Turn over and cook the other side (1 min. or less). Set aside in a warm dish. In the fry pan, melt butter, add leek, muntharies, and seasonings. Plate up fish, garnish with leek and muntharies and finish with a generous sprinkle of ground lemon myrtle.
Akudjura rosti
Akudjura rosti: Prep. time 30 mins. 4 medium potatoes, peeled and finely grated; 25g akudjura; 1 egg, lightly beaten; a generous pinch of salt; 30g corn flour; oil for shallow frying. Soak the grated potatoes in cold water for 20 minutes, drain and pat dry with a paper towel. Mix in the akudjura, egg, salt, and corn flour adding extra corn flour if the mix is too wet. Heat the oil in a small heavy frying pan over moderate heat and fry potato cakes until crisp and golden on both sides.
Australian Meals
While traveling in Australia you will learn that Australians have three main meals which vary from area to area. They are the traditional English meals and will be breakfast, lunch, and tea or dinner. Due to tradition and weather conditions, the Australian day starts early. For much of the year, much of the country has long hot days. So an early start allows the opportunity to get things done before the major heat of the day. The meal pattern is augmented with the traditional Australian morning and afternoon tea (the beverage not the meal) which is referred to as morning and afternoon smoko in some work settings. This would normally involve tea or another beverage and a snack. Fresh fruit is usually available and an ever increasing segment of the population is turning toward a more vegetarian based diet.
Bunya Bunya Nut Vegetarian Pie
Bunya Bunya Nut Vegetarian Pie (adapted from a recipe by Jean-Paul Bruneteau). Prep. time 60 mins. 200g prepared refried Bunya nut pastry; 50g munthari; 1 medium onion, chopped; 1 clove garlic, chopped; 2 large mushrooms, sliced; 2 shiitake or Chinese mushrooms, sliced; 1 medium carrot, grated; 1 small kumara, thinly sliced, and paperbark baked; ½ teaspoon mountain pepper; 1 red capsicum, chopped; 1 medium potato, sliced and steamed; 75g warrigal greens, blanched; 1 large tomato, blanched and peeled; ½ teaspoon native thyme oil for frying; 100ml cream; 1 medium-sized head of broccoli, steamed; 100g aged cheddar cheese, grated; 2 teaspoons akudjura. Press the prepared refried bunya nut pastry into an oiled, loose bottomed pie plate appropriate for 4 serving. Make the sides about 1cm thick. In a frying pan the same size as the pie plate, stir-fry the munthari with the onions until the onions are translucent but not brown and lightly season with salt. Add the garlic, stir briefly and then add the mushrooms. Sauté until mushrooms soften and spread the mix over the prepared pie crust, reserving a small amount for the topping. Next fry the grated carrot, spread it on top of the mushroom mix and season with the mountain pepper. Add the steamed slices of kumara. Fry the capsicum and the sliced tomato until relatively dry and reserve for the topping. Chop the blanched warrigal greens and squeeze out the moisture. Spread as the next layer followed by the potato, seasoned with native thyme. To prepare the topping reduce the cream by half, together with the broccoli arranged with the flowers set for the top. Add in the reserved mushrooms, capsicum and tomato scattering them around the broccoli and sprinkle the lot with the cheese seasoned with akudjura. Place the pan under the grill to melt the cheese and slip the topping into place to finish the pie. Cover with foil ensuring that the aluminum is not in contact with the food (aluminum foil reacts with food fats; the plastic coating is carcinogenic while the metal may contribute to Alzheimer's disease). Bake the covered pie at 250ºC for 50 minutes, uncovering it for the final 15 minutes. Cool a little before slicing. Serve slices with a native flavored chutney and a scatter of fine diced Roma tomatoes drizzled with aniseed myrtle oil.
Bush Herbs
Herbs. Bush herbs are better added as finishing seasonings to sauces so that the flavors can infuse rather than being cooked in (which destroys most of the volatile oils responsible for the flavors). This is also true for gumleaf oil and lemon myrtle oil which are both commonly used as cold flavors. However, gumleaf oil is less volatile than lemon myrtle oil and can be used as a finishing baste to cooked meat, if diluted appropriately. One herb which can take some heat is mountain pepper which loses its zing on heating but will impart its bushy base flavor into meat stocks and soups. To add back the zing, a finishing seasoning allows mountain pepper to mix with mixed conventional pepper in steak sauces etc. An important consideration when using bush foods is that the flavors typically exhibit an effective concentration range. Adding too little of a herb will contribute no perceptible taste. Add enough within a usually narrow concentration range and the flavor is obviously present, distinctive, and appealing. Experience and using incremental increases are better than overdosing. Within their effective concentration ranges all the native herbs currently available are cost-effective in use and delicious alternatives to conventional herbs and spices if well-balanced with other flavors. Other flavors: Wattle, roasted quandong kernels and akudjura could be considered as spices and used to flavor rich stocks and sauces. Wattle needs to be boiled and is not sensitive to heat. Roasted quandong kernels need to infuse at an addition rate of 3 - 4 kernels per finished serving of sauce. Akudjura sauces or stocks need the addition of salt as an enhancer and to balance the inherent bitterness of the fruit. Macadamia nuts, roasted and blended into a nut butter also make an ideal sauce flavoring with its smooth richness and enduring effect on the palate. Aromatic and pungent flavors can be effectively underpinned with macadamia nut butter.
Akudjura
Akudjura (ground bush tomato). Flavor - Sweet savory taste of tamarillo/caramel and similar to concentrated sun-dried tomatoes. Color and Appearance - Light brown free-flowing powder. Typical Use - Sprinkle as a seasoning for soups, vegetables, salads, cheeses or pastries. Akudjura is the seasoning used in the Sydney Salad. Salt or cheddar cheese enhances the flavor by balancing any bitterness. Helpful hints - Use at 3 to 5 percent dry addition rate. Try it in biscuits or even ice cream for something really different. Storage and Packaging Size - Store Dry, 90g jar, 1kg zip-lock bag. See also bush tomato chutney or bush tomatoes in oil
The Australian Barbie
“ We'll put another shrimp on the barbie for ya mate.” Not hardly. Maybe Paul Hogan would, selling tourism to the Yanks. But in Australia they would have to put a prawn on the barbie for ya. The Aussie barbecue is a beloved institution and a mainstay of Australian culture. The food at your barbie can be cooked over an open fire or a gas burner or any other flame source you can find, but it will be cooked on a flat metal grill or plate. Solid piece, no grating. The metal plate, like a skillet, will cook the food. Favorites on the barbie would be steak, chops, sausages, eggs, real bacon, onions, tomatoes, and bananas. And if you're really lucky, maybe some fresh oysters. When you're finished just scrape the residue off and you're ready for the next feed. Pop it in the boot (trunk) of your car and your ready to go.
Bunya Bunya Nut Slivers
Bunya nut slivers. Prep. time 20 mins. Boiled and shelled Bunya bunya nuts can be slivered, briefly toasted, and used as a garnish if very finely sliced with a meat slicer, mandolin or very sharp knife. Bunya bunya nuts are composed of starch and water and if the slices are cut too thickly the toasting dries out the starch to an almost unchewable texture. This characteristic also makes boiling the preferred cooking method for Bunya bunya nuts with some hardening inevitably occurring if the nuts are roasted. Boiled Bunya bunya nut straws can be grilled to just harden the surface leaving the inside still chewy.
Cheesefruit Cream on Game-Wrapped Figs
Cheesefruit Cream on Game-Wrapped Figs. Prep. time 30 mins. The juice from cheesefruits makes a delicious flavoring for sauces, cream cheese dips, and spreads and the fruit's flavor of over-ripe pineapple and blue-vein cheese compliments a considerable range of dishes. This recipe was inspired by Chef Armando from Sydney's Buon Ricardo restaurant. A less rich sauce could be made using a Béchamel sauce base. 4 large fresh figs and 4 smaller ones (alternatively use pears); 200ml port; 1 tablespoon wattle (optional); 100g fine sliced emu prosciutto (best sliced while frozen); 300ml thickened cream; 25ml cheesefruit juice; 8 wild rosella flowers; 2 tablespoons sugar; ½ cup roasted macadamia nut pieces. Poach the figs in the port, basting often until just soft. (If using pears, peel and core them leaving the stems intact as a garnish. Trim the bases so the fruits will stand squarely upright. Steam the cored pears in the port until cooked but still firm, basting often. An interesting flavoring for the pears in port is wattle. Boil 1 tablespoon of wattle, in the port, strain the grounds and use the liquid to poach the pears.) Cool the cooked fruit. Meanwhile, dissolve the sugar in sufficient water to cover the rosellas and soak the flowers to sweeten them. Wrap each fig (or pear) with the paper-thin slices of emu prosciutto. Reduce the cream to half until it forms a thick sauce. Flavor the cream with the cheesefruit juice. Place one large and one small prepared fig (or a single pear) on each of four plates and pour the cheesefruit sauce over and around the fruits. Serve before the sauce skins. Garnish with a sugared rosella flower and roasted nuts.
Bushman's Silverside
Bushman's Silverside. 1 silverside (Denver Leg); 1 tbsp wattleseed; 2 tbsp akudjura (ground bush tomato); 50g munthari; 2 cups stock; 1 Spanish onion (diced finely); 200gm shitake mushrooms (sliced); ½ cup oil. Roll silverside in wattle seed and akudjura to form a crust. Sear in hot oil and season. Place in oven until crust is black and cook until medium. Sauté munthari, diced onion, add stock and reduce. Add mushrooms and season if required. Thicken with arrowroot if necessary. Slice and serve on top of sauce. Riberry jus would also be suitable for a sauce with this dish. With the compliments of Rod Andrews, Executive Chef, Blacktown Worker's Club
Braised Pork Hocks
Braised Pork Hocks. 4 pork hocks; 200g carrots; 200g onions; 100g mushrooms; 2g aniseed myrtle; 2g lemon myrtle; 2g mountain pepper; 2 ltr demi glace; 500ml port wine; 100ml soy sauce; pinch salt; pinch pepper; butchers twine. Trim and tie the hocks. Finely dice all the vegetables and place in a heavy pot or tureen, with the demi glace, port wine, soy sauce, and all the native herbs. Place the hocks in the dish and cook for approximately 1½ - 2 hours or until the meat is tender. Place a hock on a plate with some of the sauce. Serve with your favorite wild food chutney.
Bunya Bunya Nut
Bunya nut plant description. Botanical name: Araucaria bidwillii. This plant is a large tall tree to 40 m high with a straight trunk, prickly leaves, and separate male and female flowers. The female cones, up to 300 mm long and weighing up to 10 kg, contain the edible seeds. A large harvest occurs approximately every three years, January to March. Uses: Bunya harvest was a time of feasting and ceremonies. Aboriginal tribes headed for the Bunya mountains where each tribe had ownership of particular trees. The tribes gathered in designated meeting places and any hostilities were suspended. Fruit was gathered and taken home. The fruit was eaten raw, roasted, or pounded into flour to make a kind of bread. Today, the nuts can still be eaten raw when fresh, or boiled to make it easier to extract the nut from the hard shell. The nuts can then be sliced or pureed and added to desserts and savory dishes. The nuts' flour can also be used to make breads and cakes.
Aniseed myrtle curd (sauce)
Aniseed myrtle curd. This curd can also be flavored with lemon myrtle, native peppermint, native mint, lemon aspen, or even mountain pepper. Prep. time 20 mins. 4eggs, beaten; 250g sugar or 375ml apple juice concentrate; 60ml water (if using sugar); 60g butter, chopped; 5g ground aniseed myrtle. Combine the eggs, sugar, and water or juice concentrate, and butter in a double boiler and heat to boiling while stirring. Simmer until thick and the curd coats the back of the spoon. Cool while stirring.
Australian Food Heritage
If you travel to Australia, you will find that Australian food is as varied as its cultural heritage. Australian food recipes include many ethnic dishes from Asian and European influences. The first settlers and early immigrants brought with them traditional English, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish recipes. This led to an early dominance of sheep, dairy, and beef industries to feed the population as well as providing food exports back to England. Traditional diets would have included foods like lamb, mutton, wild game, eggs, butter, cheeses, potatoes, and other vegetables, fish, cakes and puddings. Although the Australian Aboriginal people had survived for eons without planting, little attention was paid to their food gathering processes until very recently. Aboriginal “bush tucker” is now very much in demand.
British Empire Impact
Because of the dominate role of the colonial British Empire, food traditions that would have been unknown many places in the world spread to many members of England's conquered subjects and colonies. The Empire had a great effect on the history of Australian foods. The spice trades had a major impact on culinary practices in all of the colonies. These connections and the abundance of tropical ingredients brought Australia Asian and Indian recipes using many rice dishes combined with curry and other spices. Also cold meat accompaniments such as chutney, mustard pickles, mustards, and ginger sauces. Many of these food items would be non-existent in the U. S. due simply to the much lesser influence of England and the lands they conquered.
Bunya Bunya Nuts
Bunya Bunya Nuts (halved), Flavor - Similar to chestnut with a subtle pine overtone. Color and Appearance - Starchy white flesh with yellow central stalk. Woody shell 50mm in length, 25mm wide. Typical Uses - Slice boiled nut meat and use as a garnish or flavoring. Re-fry boiled nuts to make a pastry or use as a flavoring in desserts, sauces, or garnishing. Helpful Hints - Use shells for smoking meats. To remove meat from halved nuts simply bring the nuts to a boil in a minimum quantity of water (just covered). Storage and Packaging Sizes - Frozen, 1kg zip-lock bags (approx. 60 nuts per bag, 120 halves per bag).
Balmain Bugs and Whiting
Balmain Bugs and Whiting. Prep. time 15 mins. 8 large Balmain bugs (shovel-nosed sand lobsters); 4 whiting fillets or ocean perch or equivalent; 200g kumara (orange sweet potato); 1 piece of paperbark; 5g mountain pepper leek and capsicum julienne or other garnishing. If the bugs are alive, place them into the freezer for 30 minutes and then plunge them briefly in boiling salted water. Refresh in iced water and peel the tails reserving four heads as garnishing. Char-grill the tail meat and whiting fillets until just done and arrange 2 bug tails and a fish fillet on each of 4 warm plates, garnishing with a bug head per plate and shredded colored vegetables. Season the fried kumara with the mountain pepper and plate up. Serve at once with a lemon myrtle butter sauce.
Bush tomato oil
Tapinade and bush tomato oil. Prep. time 10 mins. 200g bush tomatoes; 400ml water; 1 teaspoon salt; 500ml polyunsaturated oil; ½ teaspoon crushed garlic; ¼ teaspoon ground mountain pepper; ½ teaspoon ground oregano; 200g oil marinated mix of olives, mushrooms, eggplant and capsicum. Coarsely chop the bush tomatoes and bring them to a boil in the salted water. Drain, reserving the water for use in stocks or sauces. Pat dry the bush tomatoes on a paper towel and transfer to an appropriately sized glass jar. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Seal and let stand for at least 3 days. Use the oil as a flavoring for pasta, pesto, or dressings and use the marinated vegetables as a garnish for salads, char-grilled vegetables, meats, or seafoods. The preserved bush tomatoes can also be made into a tapinade, blending to smoothness with a little of the flavored oil. Use to top a tuna, swordfish or salmon cutlet, a slice of toasted mountain pepper bread or even a grilled slice of conventional tomato.
Burdekin Plum
Burdekin Plum Plant. Botanical name: Pleiogynium timorense. It is a tree to 12 m, and is found in the drier scrubs. The leaves have 4 to 10 glossy green leaflets. There are separate male and female flowers. The purple-black fruits are up to 40 mm across, and have a large woody, pumpkin shaped seed. Two types are known - one has red flesh, the other has green. Usage: Fruits tend to be very acid. They are not edible straight from the tree, but need to be held for some days to soften and mellow. Early settlers, and probably aborigines, were known to bury them in the ground for a while, which had the effect of softening them and increasing palatability. The fruit can be eaten raw, or used in jams and jellies.
Austro-Asian style meat
Austro-Asian style roast pork, chicken, or beef. Prep time 2hrs. 1kg pork, chicken or beef fillet. Marinade: 15ml lemon aspen juice; 40ml light soy sauce; 30ml sweet sherry; 1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce; ½ tablespoon grated ginger; ½ tablespoon Mountain pepper; 6 native pepperberries; 2 cloves crushed garlic; 1 teaspoon bush tomato oil (or sesame oil); 40ml honey; ½ teaspoon five spice powder; garnish of colored capsicum, leek, carrot. Combine all the marinade ingredients, lightly crushing the native pepperberries and brush over the meat. Leave in a dish to marinate for at least 1 hour before baking at 200ºC for 50 minutes or until done, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Slice thinly and arrange on a platter around a mound of lemon myrtle rice. Garnish with shredded mixed vegetables.
Aniseed myrtle feta
Aniseed myrtle feta (Hinterland feta). Prep. time 10 mins. This method can be applied to all of the bush herbs to make flavored oils for use as butter substitutes or as marinating oils for vegetables or meats. The less salty the feta the better the aniseed myrtle flavor. Other items can also be marinated in this oil, for example, eggplant, capsicum, mushrooms, even olives. The oil is an excellent dipping oil for bread as a substitute for butter. Use light or unflavored oils since it is the herbs which add the distinctive flavor profile. 1 liter polyunsaturated oil, e.g. canola oil; 2 tablespoons ground aniseed myrtle; 500g Australian feta (low salt feta or soak the feta in warm water before use). Heat 100ml of the oil to 40ºC. Remove from heat and add the aniseed myrtle allowing it to infuse as the oil cools. Dice the feta and place into a clean glass jar. Cover the feta with the flavored oil and the remaining oil. Seal the jar and let stand for at least two days. The feta should keep for at least 2 months but 500g of aniseed feta is easy to eat, adding it to salads, stuffing chicken or pork fillets before baking or simply add the feta to your favorite antipasti dish. The above process can also be used for char-grilled vegetables such as capsicum, eggplant, artichokes and mushrooms.
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| George Sayour |
