What to eat in Australia?

For a lot of people, travel experiences are synonymous with culinary experiences!

Tasting the local food during your stay can both challenge your taste buds and give you a better insight into the culture. There’s usually something for everyone on the local menus – and Australia is no exception!

Are you brave enough to try some of the country’s unique specialities? Do you have a sweet tooth? Or is exploring the wide array of fantastic Australian wines more your thing?

Read more here and find inspiration for what you should eat when you’re down under!

For the brave

Exotic meat

On a tour in Australia, you’ll certainly be able to find a lot of the meat you usually eat at home: chicken, beef, pork, etc.

But you’ll also be able to taste some rather different types of meat there. It is, for example, very normal to eat crocodile, emu and kangaroo meat.

Kangaroo meat is said to be reminiscent of beef, while both emu and crocodile are low-fat and good sources of protein!

Vegemite

There are some things you need to know before visiting Australia. One of them is that Vegemite is NOT Nutella, so don’t be fooled by its brown colour.

Vegemite is the Australian answer to Marmite. And it doesn’t get more Australian than that!

The taste is unusual, and Vegemite is truly a food product that divides the waters. You either love it or you hate it!

Have a taste – it might be right up your street!

For those with a sweet tooth

After a day of trawling the streets of Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne, you may be in need of some sweet sustenance. And there are several local options in Australia.

Try, for example, the popular Tim Tam, a chocolate-covered biscuit that is also easy to take with you on the go.

If you like the taste of coconut, you can also try the Lamington, a square cake with chocolate and raspberry sauce covered in coconut!

For the social butterflies – Australian BBQ

Australian Barbecue is a popular phenomenon down under. Australians like nothing better than to fire up the barbie and invite their friends and family over for dinner.

Many public parks in Australia also have barbecue facilities that you can use.

Almost any food goes well on the Australian barbecue – different types of meat, seafood, fruit, tofu – and even pizza!

For the thirsty

Australian wine

No matter when you visit Australia, you’ve got to have a taste of its wine. Australia is one of the world’s largest producers of wine,
offering a wide selection of whites and reds alike.

And there are different types of wine from different areas of the country, e.g. From the Barossa Valley near Adelaide, the Yarra Valley near Melbourne and the Hunter Valley near Sydney. So taste your way to your favourite wine!

Coffee

Australians are also fond of coffee, and many believe that a flat white originated in Australia.

A flat white consists of a single shot of espresso, warm, steamed milk and a thin layer of skimmed milk on top.

If you prefer black coffee, you can try the Australian version of an Americano: a long black. It consists of hot water with a shot of espresso.

For the culture vultures

Meat pie

Some say you haven’t experienced the real Australia until you’ve tasted a meat pie – Australia’s national dish!

As the name suggests, a meat pie is a puff pastry pie filled with meat. There are many versions of it, with different fillings, such as cheese, onions, mushrooms and the like. The first meat pies were brought to Australia by the Brits in the 18th century and were somewhat simpler than those found there today.

According to research (as of 2017), Australians eat 12 meat pies each a year, which adds up to some 270 million meat pies annually!

Bush tucker

Bush tucker or bush food is the food traditionally eaten by Australia’s indigenous people, the Aborigines. However, much of the food is also eaten by many Australians today.

Bush tucker covers quite a few different foods that the Aborigines could find in the Australian wilderness – the bush. So it includes a wide selection of fruit, nuts, plants, kangaroo and emu meat and even insects.

One of the most famous dishes on the bush tucker menu is a witchetty grub, which is a type of caterpillar. It can be eaten raw or grilled – do you dare give it a go?