- Vegemite - Perhaps the most notorious Aussie food item, the yeast extract spread was made famous on an international scale by the following verse of Men At Work's legendary 1981 hit 'Down Under':
"Buying bread from a man in Brussels
He was six foot four and full of muscle
I said, "Do you speak-a my language?"
He just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich"
It's impossible to describe or rate Vegemite without comparing it to Marmite, as they are both dark brown savoury yeast extract spreads that some find repulsive. There are a few key differences though:
1. Marmite is sweeter.
2. Marmite is more flavoursome (in my opinion).
3. Marmite is less viscous. While Marmite is thick, it would at least slide out of the jar if upturned. Not Vegemite. It is a solid lump.
4. Marmite is tastier. Much tastier. Vegemite is ok, I'm not disgusted by it like most backpackers, but it doesn't hold a candle to Marmite.
- Promite - The lesser known relative of Vegemite. It is basically exactly the same as Vegemite, but much sweeter. Sweeter even than Marmite. As a result, Australians can be strictly divided into Vegemite fans and Promite people. The rivalry is fierce, with Vegemite aficionados thinking their opposite numbers are wrong in the head for liking Promite and vice versa. Promite may not have been immortalised in song, but I much prefer it to Vegemite; thinly spread over buttered toast it really hits the spot. Still not as good as Marmite though.
- Snot Block - 'Snot block' is the affectionate slang term for the vanilla slice, a baked good consisting of three layers - flaky pastry on the bottom, vanilla cream (the snot) in the middle, and a thin layer of icing on top. Snot blocks aren't exactly unique to Australia, but nowhere are they as revered as in Victoria. There, snot blocks are the item by which a bakery is judged and where to get the best snot block is fervently debated across the state. I'm with the Victorians on this one - snot blocks are delicious and warrant all the hullabaloo surrounding them.
- Lamington - Another baked delicacy, this one really is an Australian icon, as evidenced by their serving at the Australia Day Breakfast I attended in Bendigo. The Lamington is a cube shaped cake covered in usually either chocolate or strawberry sauce and always smothered in dessicated coconut. Lamingtons are tasty, but if my sweet tooth has dragged me to a bakery its still the chocolate caramel slice for me, or the snot block if I am in Victoria.
- Golden Syrup Dumplings - I was introduced to these beauties by my host family in Bendigo and happily helped cook up a batch. Balls of dough covered in a syrup sauce and served warm with cream, custard, or ice cream. Wonderful. Check out the recipe at the bottom of this post.
- Kangaroo - Got your attention now, haven't I? Surely I didn't eat one of these lovable bouncing marsupials? Well I did, and I didn't feel bad about it, because there are so many 'roos running riot that some have to be killed anyway, so why not eat them? I consumed a kangaroo burger in Perth and enjoyed it greatly, although that owed more to the toppings and sauce than the choice of meat, as it wasn't that different to beef, just a bit leaner perhaps. Australians don't eat kangaroo often, but it's readily available in large supermarkets in the form of sausages, burgers, and steak.
- Use of Beetroot - We eat beetroot in Britain, but don't use it nearly as effectively as the Aussies do. As everybody knows Australians love a good barbie and beetroot is usually present alongside the grilled meat. I highly recommend placing a slice of beetroot onto a burger before throwing on the tomato ketchup - it greatly enhances the enjoyment of cheap burgers.
- Pumpkin - I'm not talking about the Halloween-associated orange spheres here. In Australia, pumpkins are a vegetable a that is a lot like squash and I think they are excellent. They can be boiled, roasted, or - my favourite - made into soup.
- Custard Apple - A sub-tropical fruit with a green skin, white flesh and black seeds. They are fairly large, one serving about three people. And they are absolutely delicious. After eating one while staying in the rainforest near Cairns I instantly declared them as one of my favourite fruits. The taste is difficult to describe. When Asda introduced them to the UK in 2012 they heralded them as "having the flavour of toffee custard and the texture of sherbet." I don't know if that is accurate, but I can't do any better myself.
- ANZAC Biscuits - It is widely believed that these biscuits made from oats and golden syrup were sent to ANZAC soldiers in Gallipoli during WWII. However, the biscuits actually eaten by these troops were rock hard creations that nobody would voluntarily eat today. Nonetheless, delectable ANZAC biscuits were sold to raise money for the war effort and are still on the shelves and in cookbooks today. They are simple, nutritious, and taste pretty damn good too.
- Cherry Ripe - I'll finish off with some chocolate bars, starting with the Cherry Ripe. Despite being made by Cadbury, Cherry Ripes are only available Down Under, which is a great shame because they are fantastic. A sweet cherry coconut mix covered in dark chocolate, these bars really give you a boost when energy supplies are running low.
- Peppermint Crisp - Crunchy, crystal-like mint smothered in milk chocolate. Not as brilliant as the Cherry Ripe, but they go down a treat after a meal and can also be effectively crushed up and applied to desserts like cheesecakes and pavlovas.
- Tim Tams - Drum roll please. I can't imagine there is a food item hauled out of Australia in baggage more often than Tim Tams. Tim Tams are chocolate biscuits that are very similar to the Penguin bars that are known to Brits. There are many varieties of which I have sampled three so far:
Original - Amazing
Honeycomb - Pretty good
Dark Chocolate - Heavenly
There is a real sense of unity amongst the backpackers in Australia as we have a lot in common - we're all trying to get by spending as little as possible, we're all tired from bad nights sleep in hostels, we've all got stories (good and bad) of jobs in Aus and distance travelled, we're all trying to satisfy our wanderlust, we're all lost in a strange and giant country...and we've all got Tim Tam addictions.
WW1 ....... The failed invasion at Gallipoli by the ANZAC troops was in WW1 not WW11. Incidentally it was the idea of Winston Churchill, then the First Lord of the Admiralty, and the failure led to his resignation from the government and then him going to the western front as a soldier where he saw in successful action the tanks whose development he had authorised after the War Office (army) had refused.
ReplyDeleteA delightful and salivating account, Ali, thanks. May all your dreams be Marmite.
ReplyDelete