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| image source: Darren Freak, dftours.com.au |
Today 10 new additions to the Australian
Film and Sound Archive were announced. What an interesting way to preserve
Australian cultural history throughout the years. It did make me think, what
about a Australian Taste Archive? Here are my suggestions for the initial
inductees.
Kangaroo.
‘Roo is perfect food for the number one
spot. Eaten by Australian residents as well as their pets, it is also on
Australia’s coat of arms. Along with the emu it was chosen for the coat of arms
due to its inability to move backwards, ie Australia is always looking
forwards. Of course it could be argued that its inability to reverse might be
one of the reasons it is so easily killed for food. Kangaroo also has the
unique position of being a national symbol whilst also being treated like
vermin. Kangaroos also represent an interesting allegory for Australia’s
refugee stance. Politically Australia prides itself on its multicultural
society and its history of immigration, whilst at the same time wanting to rid
itself of new arrivals.
Beetroot.
When hamburger outlets want to have an
“Australian” variation to a basic menu item they add beetroot. In the same way
adding BBQ sauce makes it American/Texan.
Egg.
In the same way that the addition of
beetroot makes a hamburger Australian, the addition of an egg to a pizza makes it
more Aussie. Alternatively some pizza makers may choose to remove most
ingredients from their pizza to make it more authentic Aussie – leaving only
the tomato cheese and ham. This theory ignores the fact that an authentic pizza
is Neapolitan. (yes I know this is a pizza “flavour” it also means “from
Naples” - and yes that does mean that
the only authentic pizza flavour/topping is Neapolitan - and no that is not to be confused with the
mix of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice-cream that is also called
Neapolitan.)
Pineapple.
Similar to beetroot and egg, except this is
added to recipes in Australian middle and working class homes to make ant dish
seem for exotic. Generally adding pineapple to a recipe allows the cook to
describe the meal as “sweet and sour”. Beef stew + pineapple = sweet and sour
beef.
Chiko Roll.
The Chiko Roll is the Australian
interpretation of the spring roll or a Chinese egg roll. It is a mix of beef,
celery, cabbage, barley, carrot, corn,
onion, green beans, and spices wrapped in a pastry and then deep fried. Tasty,
right? It was once the perfect fast food for spectators at an Australian Rules
Football match, quick to cook, easy to eat with one hand.
Meat Pie.
Similar to the Chiko, a meat pies comes
into its own at a game of footy. Whilst it is questionable as to how much
actual meat a pie should contain (if any) they are basically meat and gravy in
pastry, cooked in an oven. A meat pie should be eaten with tomato sauce and ideally
be served at a temperature that guarantees the eater burns the roof of his or
her mouth. The reflex action of pulling away quickly with one’s mouth open
almost always results in at least some of the filling spilling onto the front
of the eaters shirt leaving a permanent stain.
Snags.
Cooked on the BBQ the perfect Australian
sausage should be either burnt so that it actually crunches during the chewing
process or is left so that it is still raw in the middle. Either way the
consumer is sure to be spending some time in the near future vacating the same
sausage from their bowels. No one knows the exact list of ingredients that
creates an Australian sausage. No one wants
to know the list of ingredients that create an Australian sausage.
Vegemite.
Enough said.
It is worth noting that Chiko Rolls, meat
pies , poorly cooked snags and vegemite within hours, also lead to a range of digestive
bi-products which could be the initial entries to the Australian Smell Archive.
