History of Australia Cuisine

Modern Australian cuisines have been heavily influenced by its Asian neighbours, particularly Indian cuisine from South Asia, Chinese and Japanese cuisine from East Asia, and Thai and Vietnamese cuisine from South-East Asia. Much of this influence is due to the many waves of immigrants from these nations. Similarly, Mediterranean influences from Greek, Lebanese, Italian cuisines are very common with many of these influences arriving in Australia during the 1950s and 1960s. 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. With most of the Australian population residing in coastal areas, fish and seafood is popular.

Australia’s favourable climate has also made barbecues a commonplace event at gatherings of friends and families. Barbecues are also common in fund raising for schools and local communities, where sausages and cooked onion are served on white bread with tomato sauce or Barbecue sauce. These are most often referred to as “Sausage Sizzles”.

Photo credit australianwomenonline.com

Some English trends are still evident in the domestic cooking of many Australians of Anglo-Celtic descent. Among these is the widespread tradition of having roast turkey, chicken, and ham with trimmings followed by a plum pudding for Christmas lunch or dinner, despite the fact that Christmas is at the height of the Southern Hemisphere summer.-(Wikepedia)