Cuisine of Australia

Originally, traditional Australian cuisine was based on English cooking brought to the country by the first European settlers. This cuisine generally consisted of Sunday roasts, grilled chops, and other forms of meat, and was generally accompanied by vegetables (often known colloquially as “three veg”) such as mashed potatoes, beans, peas, and carrots. This trend has declined considerably with the multicultural emphasis of Australian culture over the last thirty to fifty years. However, the barbecue or “barbie” remains an important part of Australian life.

The ‘barbie’ remains the icon of Australian cuisine and culture, has developed and grown as a party/gathering tradition. Despite this, the range of cuisines available in the multicultural cities of Australia have developed greatly to have a high level of immigrant success. Italian, Chinese, Thai, Indian, and Mexican foods are very popular and are maintained at a high authentic quality by a thriving restaurant trade in many cities for the enjoyment of ethnic background and western background Australians.

Australian cuisine is among the most diverse. Australian meals are extremely different from the early English Settler years. The influx of immigrants living in Australia has brought many new dishes to the country and it’s popular to take standard meals and add elements of different cultures.

Traditional Australian cuisine was based on English cooking brought to the country by the first European settlers. This cuisine generally consisted of Sunday roasts, grilled chops, and other forms of meat, and was generally accompanied by vegetables (often known colloquially as “three veg”) such as mashed potatoes, beans, peas, and carrots (often served soggy or overcooked). This trend has declined considerably with the multicultural emphasis of Australian culture over the last thirty to fifty years.

Background

Fifty years ago, Australian cuisine was unsophisticated; Chicken Maryland would be regarded as a sophisticated dish. By stark contrast, today’s Australian cuisine is some of the most diverse available anywhere, due to the many cultural influences. Modern Australian cuisine has been heavily influenced by the country’s South East Asian neighbours, and by the many waves of immigrants from there, and all parts of the world.

Similarly, Greek, Lebanese and Italian influences are common. Fresh produce is readily available and thus used extensively, and the trend (urged by long-term government health initiatives) is towards low-salt, low-fat healthy cookery incorporating lean meat and lightly cooked, colourful, steamed or stir-fried vegetables.

Australia’s wide variety of seafood are also popular, especially for festivities, while barbecues are common at weekend family gatherings. Barbecues are also common in fundraising, where sausages and onion are served on white bread with tomato sauce, although due to food safety issues this trend has decreased.

Some English trends are still evident in domestic cuisine, among them a widespread tradition of having a hot roast turkey, chicken and/or ham with all the trimmings for Christmas dinner, followed by a heavy Christmas pudding.