The Land Down Under is a country of many curiosities including endemic kangaroos, large deserts, that Red Centre of Australia, and last but probably also least – Vegemite, a food so polarizing that there have been wars to determine which side would prevail – the one that likes Vegemite, or the one that hates it. (Not really.)
There haven’t been any wars over Vegemite, but here’s this, as well: You’ll never find a person who sort of likes it. You either love it or hate it, that’s the deal, and nothing in between-ish is acceptable.
Other than its breathtaking beaches and stunning nature, Australia is also home to a very curious and exotic cuisine, so, in order to help you understand it properly, if you haven’t tasted it before, we’ve devised this article where we’ll talk about the aforementioned Vegemite, a couple of meat pies, and then also about edible worms. Grubs.
Right then, without further ado, here’s the deal.
Vegemite
As Men at Work would put it, Australia is a place where women glow and men chunder, and they may chunder because they’ve tasted one of Australia’s most iconic meals – Vegemite.
As we mentioned above, Vegemite is a sort of polarizing food, because there are many people who truly and passionately hate it. On the other hand, many Australians eat it daily, so there must be something to it.
Ingredient-wise, it’s a fine paste made from a variety of vegetables, some yeast extract, and then a fair deal of spices. So, it’s quite similar to what the Brits call Marmite. It can be eaten with butter and bread, just bread, or in combination with other foods such as tomatoes, cheese, and even avocado. There are no rules to how you consume this, as long as you’ve got the stomach for it.
Meat Pie
If in America hamburgers are the go-to food you can get at any corner shop around the country, in Australia that would be the meat pie.
Even though this culinary wonder may seem completely counter-intuitive, because pies are usually considered sweet, Aussies do have a great taste for them. Similarly to what Americans do with hamburgers, you can find a bunch of corner shops selling various versions of the meat pie in Australia.
Other than the meat itself, which is the central ingredient, of course, the experienced chefs of the Land Down Under also tend to stuff these mushrooms with vegetables, mushrooms, and cheese.
An interesting thing about Australian meat pies is that they’re quite mushy, so you won’t run the risk of displacing your carefully-placed ips e-max crown teeth if you give it a bite, for example. So, it’s a soft kind of meat, not the rough one.
Witchetty Grub
… is an edible grub.
As awful and unsanitary as this may seem at first, as long as a Witchetty grub hasn’t been dipped in like, uranium or something, you can eat it without worrying about poisoning yourself and contracting a rare disease.
Witchetty grubs reportedly taste just like fried chicken, although their texture may not be the most appealing to many palates. These grubs are, more importantly, full of protein and it is said that only one grub, which is quite large in all fairness, contains as much protein as a steak. Talk about post-workout recovery. A couple of Witchettys and you’re good to go.
Kangaroo Steak
Imagine bantering with your friends and talking about Australian food but you don’t know anything about it. Someone would eventually say: ‘Omg, what do they even eat there, like – kangaroo steak, lol?’, and then everyone would laugh, but that’s actually what they eat. And emu also.
Kangaroo steak is a thing, and it’s just a format of meat it comes in, so to speak. You also have meals such as kangaroo burgers, sausages – and whatever else you can make out of lean red meat.
The interesting thing is, kangaroo meat isn’t really considered that much of curiosity in Australia, and many people would gladly eat a well-marinated kangaroos steak as much as a cow steak any day.
Fish ‘n’ Chips
Here’s a reminder of Australia’s colonial past together with the English.
This country and a continent is home to one of the best fish ‘n’ chips-oriented eating cultures anywhere in the world, so you can rest assured that you won’t be disappointed if you order a portion at a local restaurant. (Even if you’re British and your standards are quite high in this respect.)
All things considered, whether it’s Vegemite, some of the delicious meat pies, or a good ole bushwhacker’s grub, Australian food has certainly got its well-deserved place on the world stage as one of the most interesting ones. Although preparing it does mean you’d have to have kangaroo meat ready in many cases, if you do get to try it on a trip, you’ll certainly going to recognize its nutritive merit.
