Table of Contents
The Fairy Bread
Fairy bread is an unusual dessert synonymous with children’s birthday parties in Australia, consisting of triangle-shaped slices of white bread smeared with butter and topped with tiny, multi-colored balls of sugar known as hundreds and thousands in Australia, also known as sprinkles in the rest of the world.No one knows where fairy bread originated, but its closest relative is hagelslag, a Dutch chocolate sprinkle sandwich topping. Some say fairy bread was inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem of the same name.
Biscuits for Anzacs
Anzac biscuits are a type of delicious cookie composed of flour, oats, golden syrup, butter, sugar, coconut, and soda bicarbonate. Although the origins of these cookies are unknown, both Australia and New Zealand claim to be the inventors of the Anzac biscuits we know today. Although other comparable recipes were discovered in early 1900s cookbooks, the first known recipe for the cookies is substantially different from modern Anzacs. The cookies are associated with Anzac Day, a commemoration of the arrival of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) at Gallipoli, because some think the biscuits were supplied to Anzac soldiers during the war.
Slice of Vanilla
Vanilla slice is Australia’s response to mille-feuille, consisting of a rich vanilla custard sandwiched between puff or phyllo pastry sheets and topped with vanilla, raspberry, strawberry, chocolate, or passion fruit icing. The vanilla slice is sometimes known as a snot block because of the slightly unstable texture of the custard. After it has been cooked, the dessert is cut into slices and served. This dish is so popular that there is an annual competition called the Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph to find the finest vanilla slice baker.
Cocktail with Prawns
Shrimp cocktail, also known as prawn cocktail, is a seafood meal that consists of grilled prawns served in a glass with cocktail sauce. Most people believe it was conceived by a 19th-century miner from California who initially used oysters in a glass with a sauce, however the Golden Gate Hotel in Las Vegas was the first to serve a 50-cent shrimp cocktail in 1959. It was served with cocktail sauce in a tulip glass. Cocktail sauce is typically made with ketchup and horseradish or ketchup and mayonnaise. From the 1960s until the 1980s, this legendary dish was very popular.
Spag Bol
Spag Bol, an abbreviation for spaghetti bolognese, is one of Australia’s national meals. The dish is an Australian take on the traditional Italian tagliatelle al ragù alla bolognese. It’s usually made with Australian beef, mushrooms, onions, carrots, celery, bacon, garlic, tomatoes, and spaghetti noodles. The use of Australian beef and mushrooms gives the dish a uniquely Australian flavor that sets it apart from comparable recipes. It is best to serve the pasta first, followed by the rich meaty sauce.
Vegemite
Vegemite is a notably yeasty spread found in nine out of 10 Australian pantries. It all started in 1922 when the Fred Walker Company (now known as Kraft Food Company) hired a chemist to create a new spread from a single vitamin B-rich ingredient. Vegemite is a spread produced from leftover brewer’s yeast extract, spices, and vegetable additions. It has a thick, gluey, and sticky texture comparable to peanut butter, and it is dark red to brown, almost jet-black. Vegemite is highly salty, so it takes some getting used to.
Toast with Avocado
Avocado toast is a dish that consists of toasted bread topped with mashed avocados, salt, pepper, and (sometimes) citrus juice. This meal has various variations, and it can be augmented with items such as salmon, tomatoes, onions, eggs, garlic, cheese, olive oil, or red pepper flakes. Although the meal is simple and uncomplicated, the site of its origin is not; some believe it is an Australian invention, while others claim it was born in Los Angeles. Avocado toast, regardless of its origin, began its modern-day resurrection on Instagram and has been trending globally ever since.
Lamington
Lamington is a world-famous Australian culinary icon that consists of a sponge cake coated in chocolate and topped with fine desiccated coconut. The dessert is thought to have been accidentally made when Lord Lamington’s maid dropped his favorite cake in melting chocolate.
Lamington, Queensland’s ninth Governor, proposed that the cake be sprinkled with coconut to avoid making a mess while eating it – and the erroneous cake was declared a huge success by all. Today, the cake is quite popular due to its temperature adaptability; when sliced into bite-sized squares and covered in coconut, it lasts longer in the heat.
Pie with Meat
The flaky dough of Australian meat pie is filled with sauce and chopped meat. Of course, there are countless variations, including onions, chicken and asparagus, mushrooms, cheese, crocodile meat, vegetables, or shellfish. There are other meat pie variations such as party pies (small pies distributed to party guests) and pie floaters (a green pea soup with a pie floating on top of it). Pies date back to the Neolithic period, when barley, semolina, and grains were ground into a paste, filled with honey, and cooked over hot coals.
Pavlova
Pavlova is the quintessential summer dessert, as delicate as the ballerina after whom it is named. Whipped cream is often dolloped on top of a snowy meringue, followed by a splash of color in the form of fruit, ideally sour kinds that complement the sweetness of the meringue. Pavlova is thought to be a descendant of the German torte and was invented in the 1920s during Anna Pavlova’s tour to Australia and New Zealand, though the specific inventor remains unknown. The first recipe for Pavlova was published in 1926, but it was not the delicacy we know today, but rather a multi-colored gelatine dish.
