Whether you are new to Australia or want to introduce visitors to Australian food, Australia has a lot of quirky options on offer.
In the first episode of the Australia Explained podcast, we look at the most prominent and strangest Australian foods.
Listen to the food segment of the Australia Explained series here:
LISTEN TO
From vegemite to kangaroo meat: The stories behind Australia's most iconic foods
SBS Punjabi
25:29
in the popular culinary contest, MasterChef Australia, said that it is "no secret that Australians are one of the world's most voracious meat-eaters."
"It doesn't matter what occasion it is. People in Australia have a unique appetite for beef, chicken and pork," Mr Pandit said.
"Traditionally, red meat has always taken a centre spot at the Aussie dinner table. People love to have beef and more pork on the fork," he said.
Adding to the narrative, Melbourne-based Italian restaurant owner Pritpal Sandhu, who has been working in Australia's food and hospitality industry for the past 26 years said that Aussies love to consume different varieties of meat.
Sandeep Pandit in the Masterchef Australia kitchen with the judges. Source: Network 10
"Australian love it. It can be available as a simple or complex food which normally depends on where you have it," Mr Sandhu said.
"The meat is often served as part of sophisticated dishes if you consume it in a restaurant or there could be a rather simpler way to serve it, as we do - mingled with home-style cooking or barbequed."
Mr Sandhu also spoke about Australia's 'barbecue culture', a great way of connecting with family and friends on any occasion, especially over the weekends.
Source: Pixabay
"It's a vast tradition no matter which part of Australia you are. The usual accompaniments include various meats, salads, fried onions, and baked potatoes," he said.
"In meat, some favourite cuts may include chicken and lamb parts while beef and pork cuts include steaks, chops, rib roast, brisket etc. There are also a wide variety of sausages to choose from,” he added.
Kangaroo
Pritpal Sandhu is the owner operator of an Italian restaurant in Templestowe, 16 km north-east of Melbourne Source: Supplied
This animal, which is associated in everyone's mind with Australia, is also a guest on (not at!) the Australian table. Kangaroo meat is one of the healthiest meats, being very lean.
Speaking about its flavour, Mr Sandhu said that it tastes a lot like beef, but it has a higher protein and iron content.
"It also has fewer calories and is a good source of omega-3," he said.
"It needs a lot of attention while cooking. You can spoil it even if it is slightly overcooked."
Meat pies
The humble meat pie may be delicious, but it is a little vanilla compared to crazier pie recipes. Source: Supplied
Like the United States has the hamburger, Australia has meat pies. Almost no bakery is without them. In fact, Aussies eat 270 million pies a year!
It's a cup of pastry that can rest in your hand, filled with meat, and topped pastry and cooked in the oven. When ready to eat, most people top it with tomato sauce. These savoury pies have become an Aussie icon, even though they didn't originally come from here.
Pastries filled with minced meat can be traced back to the ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman civilizations, but the pies that we know came from old British recipes as a way to preserve meat.
It arrived in Australia with the gold rush in the 1850s and remained popular ever since!
Vegemite
Vegemite Source: AAP
Vegemite is close to 100 years old as one of the most uniquely Australian foods.
It was originally designed to be like the famous British 'Marmite'. Shipments of Marmite from Britain stopped after the end of World War I, so there was a gap in the market.
The Marmite recipe was not made public so after experiments in 1922, the result was Vegemite as we know it today, made from the barley waste after beer production. If you compare Vegemite and Marmite, you will find similarities but they’re not quite the same.
Vegemite became popular in World War II when the Australian government sent it with food rations for soldiers at war. It reminded soldiers of their homeland during their battles in various countries. By the end of the 1940s Vegemite was in nine out of ten homes in Australia.
Pavlova
A 'Pavlova' Christmas dessert is named after Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. Source: Frank Walker/picture alliance via Getty Images)
Mr Pandit also spoke about one of the most famous Australian desserts during the summer, relished especially at Christmas dinners, called Pavlova.
The history of Pavlova in Australia is unclear. For Australians, it is a dessert designed in honour of the Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova, who visited the country from 1926 to 1929.
But Australia's neighbour New Zealand says some of their cookbooks older than Pavlova's visit explain how Pavlova is made. This dispute is considered one of the most famous cultural conflicts between the two countries.
Weetbix
Weet-Bix was first produced in Sydney in the mid-1920s as a rival to a similar product from Sanitarium. As a cheap, healthy breakfast it became the country’s favourite breakfast food during the Great Depression in 1929. It was also a food for soldiers during World War II.
Tim Tams
Tim Tam biscuits Source: Flickr - slgkgc CC BY 2.0.jpg
A name that needs no introduction, this is a biscuit that many Aussie citizens miss when overseas. Two pieces of chocolate biscuit, with chocolate cream in between, covered with more chocolate.
The recipe was developed in 1958 at Arnott’s Biscuit Company and was named by Ross Arnott, owner of the company. It is named after winning racehorse - Tim Tam.
They were first in stores in 1964 and became the most popular biscuit in the country. Many types have been designed, including double coated, caramel, mint and many more, as well as innovated ways to eat Tim Tams, like the Tim Tam Slam.
Lamington
Australians love lamingtons so much that there is a National Day dedicated to that delicious cake - July 21 every year. It is light and fluffy in the middle, dipped in chocolate on the outside, before being rolled in coconut.
The Australian recipe for lamington cake dates back over 100 years, and most believe it is named after Lord Lamington, the first governor of Queensland.
Listen to the six amazing episodes of Australia Explained in Punjabi on , and .
