The food
culture brought to Australia by English immigrants
English immigrants first settled in
South Australia in 1836, in ships such as "HMS Buffalo", a replica
of which is to be seen at Holdfast Bay. These folk established themselves
on the Adelaide Plains, some gradually taking up agricultural land in
the Adelaide Hills. In 1839 persecuted Lutheran immigrants from Prussia
arrived, looking to establish their community in a free land, and moved
to Hahndorf or the Barossa Valley. My own forebears arrived on the "Isabella
Watson" in 1846. These people brought with them traditional English
recipes, many of which appear in my own grandmother's handwritten recipe
book, such as Stewed Chops, Potato Dumplings and Jam Pudding. They were
all simple recipes, not requiring complicated ingredients, and not costing
much money, a style of cookery that reflected the modest means of the
time. Among the English immigrants were sheep graziers providing prime
lamb, others farmed beef cattle and still others became the butchers,
bakers and candlestick makers of newly established towns. Many recipes,
in hand written recipe books, brought to Australia by migrant women have
been passed from one cook to another down the years. These recipes still
hold their place in home cooking of today including Lamb Roast, Lamingtons,
tasty Steak and Kidney Pies. They have been joined by dishes that have
earned their special place in Australian history, such as the Pavlova,
Soldier's Cake and Anzac Biscuits, and of course for genteel afternoon
teas, the Lamington and Pumpkin Scones.
Damper:
A damper is a traditional Australian bread, made without yeast, and
commonly made on a campfire in a cast iron camp oven. Lamingtons:
A chocolate coated cube of sponge cake, rolled in desiccated coconut;
usually served with whipped cream and afternoon tea. It is said that
Lamingtons were invented in the Queensland Government House kitchen
as a creative use for stale sponge cake. I do not recommend that you
use stale cake, but the mixture is easier to handle if the cake is not
too fresh and crumbly. They are named after Lady Lamington, the wife
of the Governor of Queensland from 1896 to 1901. Pavlova:
A recipe developed by a chef in Western Australia, or so the story goes
(or was it in New Zealand?) to celebrate the visit of the famous ballerina
Anna Pavlova, is a confection of sugar and egg white meringue, covered
with delicious whipped cream and seasonal fruits. (click to read full article) Anzac Biscuits:
A rather hard but crisp biscuit
of rolled oats and molassesSoldier's Cake: A long keeping boiled fruit cake
At this stage in my story of Australian
food, I am forced to acknowledge that although English immigrants brought
their foods and recipes to a new land, there was already a wealth of
cultural food in existence. I refer to the indigenous foods and style
of eating that of course was the very first cuisine established in this
country. It may have taken many decades for this to be acknowledged,
but there is an awakening taking place both in Australia and internationally.
The oldest
food culture - indigenous Australian food or native food
For centuries the indigenous people
of this country have used the fruits and plants growing widely on the
land. It may have taken a long time, but it is satisfying to realise
that Indigenous foods are becoming more widely known and available,
being grown very successfully by a group of visionary farmers in South
Australia, and enabling the creation of dishes such as; Calamari seasoned
with lemon myrtle, Lemon myrtle linguine tossed with local scallops
and prawns, Native spinach fettuccine with Springs Smoked Salmon with
creamy bush tomato and macadamia sauce, Kangaroo fillet crusted with
Mountain Pepper, and served with a pepper berry dressing and fresh leaf
salad. Damper is a perfect example of a food passed from one tradition
to another. The aboriginal people have traditionally ground seeds to
make a kind of flour, added water and baked a kind of Damper in the
coals of their cooking fires. Damper became the means of outback stockmen
having fresh bread, but using the more traditional flours, and using
a camp oven for baking in the hot coals of the camp fire.
In Oz we have a little freshwater
crustacean that lurks on the bottom of streams, lakes and in farm dams,
they are called Yabbies, and have been enjoyed by indigenous Australians
for centuries. An enterprising lady at Inman Valley, looking to diversify
on a dairy farm during a downturn in the dairy industry, tried farming
yabbies in her farm dams. She has established a successful and innovative
business, buying and marketing yabbies. Now the rest of the world is
waking up to their secret delights. Their delicate, sweet flavour and
firm texture has won lavish praise from connoisseurs the world over.
They are absolutely delicious, and can be used in Yabbie Chowder, Yabbie
Pate, or Yabbie Stir Fry with Asian vegetables.
Lemon myrtle:
fresh leaf, or ground dried leaf of the Lemon Myrtle tree
Mountain Pepper:
ground leaf or berries of the mountain pepper tree
Native spinach:
warrugul greens, a native spinach growing in coastal areas
Bush tomatoes:
small tomato-like fruits, also called desert raising
Macadamia nuts: a nut,
native of Australia, now grown in other places
Wattle seed:
A small, oval, black variety of the Acacia seed. Wattle seed
is used in
myriad foods including rice, soups, meat rubs and baked goods.
Innovation
in Australian Cuisine
In response to Tourism, innovative
chefs have worked very hard to produce a regional cuisine using the
most wonderfully fresh food, which can be enjoyed without a damaging
sting in the hip pocket, and can be washed down with an amazing variety
of world class locally produced wines. The wine will most probably have
been produced from the vineyards surrounding the town, the reds having
mellowed in the autumn sun, and the whites exhibiting the crisp fruity
style of the vale such as The Olive Grove Chardonnay. A typical menu
at my favourite restaurant might read like this : Turkey liver and Mountain
Pepper pate, grilled Kangaroo fillet with red wine and Muntrie glaze,
sweet potato chips and fresh garden salad drizzled with a dressing made
from local Olive Oil and Red Wine Vinegar, followed by Lemon Myrtle
curd tart and Kangaroo Island clotted cream, with a glass of excellent
mellow shiraz or a crisp fruity chardonnay.
Migration
to Australia
The story of innovation in South
Australian food would not be complete without mention of the tremendous
contribution made by other cultures such as the German, Italian, Greek,
Asian and South African immigrant communities, bringing both recipes
and plant stock to their new home. Someone planted a few olive trees
- probably an Italian or Greek immigrant longing to have the taste of
home, and soon we had innocent little Australian bush birds eating the
fruit, and pushing the seeds out the other end to plant them in other
regions. Through the Adelaide Hills we have many self sown, or should
I say bird sown, Olive trees from which some pressing plants produce
what they label Ferral Olive Oil. It is a delicious oil, being a full
flavoured and peppery golden drop.
German communities also had their
own food producers such as traditional German bakers, German butchers
with wonderful spicy metwurst, and pickle makers, finding the perfect
ingredients here to continue the practice of their traditional crafts.
What a treat it is to walk into one of these bakeries and inhale the
yeasty aroma, to see the golden crusty loaves and delicious German cakes
such as Bienenstich, a yeast cake, cream filled and topped with a sweet
honey-nut layer.
Originally from Greece, Michael
Angelakis said this about the early days in South Australia. "It
was very tough," says Michael. "A lot of families went to
Thevenard on the West Coast because migrants had already established
a fishing village there and you could speak your native language. This
meant that the culture was kept alive, too, and the best way to learn
another culture is through food." These little seaside communities
have become part of a large seafood industry. A walk through Adelaide's
fish market any day will bring you close to the salty smell of the sea,
and amaze you with the incredible variety of oysters, abalone, lobster,
prawns and blue fin tuna and other seafood. No need for the cook to
use frozen seafood; we can have the plump, fresh oysters, still tasting
of the deep southern waters to serve as Oysters Kilpatrick, fresh tuna
steaks to be served as Grilled Tuna with Lemon Myrtle Sauce or Kingfish
cutlets with a peppered crust served with Lime dressing.
Gone are the days when a lamb chop
and three vegetables were standard fare in this community. Imaginative
marketing presents the cook with many options such as marinated meats,
fresh pasta and ready prepared fresh vegetables. There is certainly
no excuse for boring or unattractive meals, with such a range of innovative
recipes and fresh food products available in Australia today.
Our chefs have inspired us to develop a great cuisine.
Note: You may also be interested to discover different types of Australian sandwiches: click for sandwich article
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